


25 Days Of Ficmas

by Rachel_Lu



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Presents, Christmas turkey, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Falling In Love, Feelings, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, One Shot, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-03 15:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 36,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8719789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_Lu/pseuds/Rachel_Lu
Summary: A collection of one shots following the Doctor and Rose through various non AU and AU situations, all fluffy :)





	1. An Airport Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Happy December 1st! Remember you can still leave suggestions for future chapters (In fact, please do!)
> 
> Prompt: The Doctor and Rose are stuck in an airport over Christmas

" _Flight 203 delayed due to weather"_

Rose Tyler slammed her head down on the wall behind her chair and groaned.  It was midnight, and most people had managed to scoot out before the storm hit.  She _envied_ those people with a burning passion.  She had almost made it.  But here she sat, in her pajama bottoms and tank top, a loose hoody drawn around herself, ready to sleep on a plane, but there was no plane to sleep on. And she had no money for a motel, so she was going to have to sleep here in the airport.  

She curled up on the seat and started typing on her phone, telling her mum that she was sorry but she wouldn't be home in time for Christmas morning.  She sighed sadly and curled up sideways on her chair, balls of her feet pressed against the right armrest.  Her boss had promised her she'd be home for Christmas after the buying she was sent to do for Henrik's.  She hadn't expected to be in America this long.  She rested her chin on her knees and read the text from her mum

_Don't you worry love.  We'll save the turkey till you get home._

That's when a man threw himself into the chair across from her and let out a frustrated sigh.  Rose looked over at him and quickly looked away, not wanting to stare at him. He was dressed in a suit but his tie was loose around his neck, and his hair rumpled. he was certainly a welcome sight to her tired mind.  He looked frustrated, though not necessarily angry. 

"Hello," he said suddenly. Since she thought he was speaking on the phone, she didn't reply until he repeated himself.  "Hello?"

She turned her head and didn't spot a bluetooth in his ear.  "Hello," she replied carefully.

"Your flight get delayed too?"

"Yeah. 203."

"Oh!  Me too."  His knee bounced anxiously.  "Just want to get home, you know. My sister said she'd skin me if I didn't come home on time."

Rose laughed, despite herself, because she wasn't really planning on having a conversation with this random stranger, but he was quite personable and she found herself warming up to him.  Or maybe that was because she was bored and there was no one else to warm up to.  

"I was just going to see my mum," she said.  "I'm from London."

"Oh, me too!"  He sounded surprised, and that made her giggle. 

"Yeah, I could tell from your accent."  She told him.  

He blushed a little. "Yes, I suppose that would be a bit of a giveaway, wouldn't it?"

"Well, wasn't my accent a giveaway?"

"I suppose."

"Did you want to say something to me, sir?" She asked, wondering what his deal was, really.  She didn't know this man, she was sitting sideways (which should have been off-putting enough) and they were both waiting for the same flight.

"Just thought it might be nice to have someone to talk to, while you wait. Christmas is the worst time to be alone, you know."

She sighed and leaned her head against the wall behind her chair. "I know."

His face fell. "I didn't mean to make you upset," he said softly.

She shook her head. "I'm not upset, just disappointed. I've never missed a Christmas. I guess no one would've thought it would snow this much."

"I know. It wasn't on the weather forecast."   He looked disgruntled and she couldn't help but giggle.

He looked at her again, carefully. "You've never missed a Christmas?"

She shook her head, trying not to look miserable.

"Oh! We'll fix that, you won't be missing this one either," he shoved his suitcase under her chair. "Come on, no one will take them. We're going to have Christmas."

"I don't even know your name," She laughed. 

"It's John. Dr. John Smith!" He extended his hand to her, and when she shook his hand, he hauled her to her feet. 

"There's no way to have Christmas at the airport, Dr. John Smith," Rose protested breathlessly.  

"Sure you can!" He beamed like a loon and she was alarmed at the fact that she found it endearing. "I'll show you.  But I'm afraid that I don't know your name, do I?"

"It's Rose Tyler."  She realized that she was still holding his hand and blushed, pulling it away.  "It's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too.  Now.  Christmas!"

She was too bored and sad to keep herself from resisting, so she trailed along behind him, though he had suddenly much more bounce in his step than he had when he sat down across from her.  She crossed her arms and trudged along, her hands warming up a little, at the very least.  

"So you live in London?" He asked over his shoulder, as other annoyed people in the airport shot him dirty looks for practically skipping. 

"Yeah. I'm a buyer at Henrik's."

"Lovely place," he said happily.

"You've been?"

"Once or twice, for new suits."

"Oh."

An American airport, of course, had a Cinnabon, and Rose stared at it, confused.  "I don't understand why we're here," she said, "It's just some-"

He cringed and held a hand up. "Don't even finish that sentence.  You _clearly_ have never had a Cinnamon Roll from Cinnabon."

"No, obviously not," she laughed.  "What is it?"

"You'll feel like you're getting diabetes, they're so sugary," he said gravely, his face falling still for just a moment.  "But you'll love every moment of it."

"Okay then," she pulled out her wallet from her hoodie pocket and he batted her hand away.

"No, no, my treat.  That way, if you hate it, you haven't paid for an experience that you don't want."

She cocked an eyebrow at him.  "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Well, thank you, John.  That's very kind of you."

In truth, it was more than kind, and she was surprised that he was doing that for her.  He didn't know her, not really.  And yet he was just willing to buy her food?

"But what does this have to do with Christmas?" She asked. 

"We'll go sit by the Christmas tree in the lobby," he said.  "Tell Christmas stories."

She smiled.  He was desperate to have Christmas for himself.  "Alright," she said, "That sounds fun."  

He beamed at her and paid for her Cinnabon as well as his own. She was quite fond of him simply for that. He handed it to her and led her down through the airport to the center of it, where a frankly magnificent tree stood.  She hadn't really looked at it when she entered, as she had been keen on going home, but now that she stood to observe it, she thought it had to be the most beautiful tree in the world.  She gawked at it, the red and gold that covered the tree looking quite beautiful. White lights glittered on the tree and she looked at the faux presents under the tree.  It was completely beautiful.  She sank down at the base of the tree, on the red tree skirt, and opened the carton that the cinnamon roll had been placed in. The smell smacked her in the face and her eyes fluttered shut. 

"Oh, that's _gorgeous,"_ She said, picking up the fork. 

"And you haven't even tried it yet," he said, sitting down next to her and cracking open his own carton.  

"Well, you know, it's good to enjoy every aspect of something. Scent is an aspect to enjoy."

They sat under the tree, telling each other Christmas stories.  She told him of the red bicycle she had gotten as a child, and her mother had been so baffled because she hadn't known where it came from.  John talked of the wild dreams he had as a child, of Santa and satsumas, for some odd reason.  They giggled and chatted until Rose's eyelids started to grow heavy. 

"Ah. Bedtime, I think.  Maybe we should go back to our things, guard them for the night."

She agreed, and they binned their garbage before going up to where they had come from.

"Rose?"

"Yes, John?"

"Would you like to sit next to me, on the plane ride home?"

"I'd like that."

They sat next to each other in their chairs too, her legs tucked up under her so she was leaning more towards him, though not touching him at all.  Although she was drawn to him, it was quite too soon for that. 

"Rose?"

"Yes, John?" She said patiently. 

"I'd like to... See you.  After we go home."

"What, like a date?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let's see, what time is it?" She asked.

"Four in the morning."

"Ah.  Four hours, then," she said.  "Seems to me, John, that we've just been on a date."

"Good enough for a second one?" He asked hopefully.

She felt her stomach flutter and she took his hand in hers to reassure him.  "Yeah," she said, "I'll give you my mobile number... In the morning." and Rose fell asleep first, her head against his shoulder, leaving John to grin like a loon into the dimly lit airport. 

"Merry Christmas, Rose Tyler." he whispered against her hair. 

Well, needless to say, it was  good story for their children, when they had them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey and the Doctor accidentally switch bodies

"Mickey _Smith."_

"I don't know how this happened."

It was the Doctor's voice with Mickey's accent, and Mickey's voice with the Doctor's accent, and it was all very confusing.  The Doctor had flipped the wrong lever.  If Rose had been there, he would have merely said "oops," and been quite embarrassed.  But Rose was not here, and so what he had to do was switch his body with Mickey's again before Rose reentered the console room. 

"I thought body swapping was a bloody myth!" Mickey said, touching the Doctor's hand to his head. "This is confusing.  You're so _gangly."_

"Oi! Rose doesn't mine."

"Rose didn't mind the figure you're fittin' in right now, either," Mickey said smugly, and the Doctor decided that if that was what he looked like when he was smug, he would never make that face again.  

"Well Rose likes me... Recently."

"How much?"

"A... Lot."

"How _much,_ Doctor?" Mickey- er- the Doctor- er- Mickey in the Doctor's body- looked very angry and the Doctor was growing quite uncomfortable. 

"Um.  Well, Mickey, a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell."

"Does he shag and tell?"

"Mickey Smith!" The Doctor crossed Mickey's arms over Mickey's chest and it felt very uncomfortable.

"Well?"

"If I did- or didn't- do anything with Rose, it's hardly any of your business."

"When did it happen?"

"What!" 

"When did it happen?" Mickey demanded. 

"Again, none of your business," the Doctor said, turning his nose up.  Well, really, he was turning Mickey's nose up at Mickey and that was quite insulting to the other man.  

"Oh, I think it is. I've been Rose's friend as long as she's been alive. It kind of is my business who she's been doin'."

"What, you mean since you?"

Mickey blushed deeply then, quite obvious on the Doctor's pale, freckly skin.  "Rose and I- we dated, yeah, and I tried to ask her to, but we never-"

"Ohhh... So you and Rose never-"

"Shut up."

"No. That's good. That's... Brilliant."

"What, you thought just cause we were dating that we were... Come on, Doctor."

"You saying you didn't?"

"I'm saying Rose didn't want to- You know what, I don't need to tell you any of this!" Mickey said, throwing the Doctor's hands into the air.

"Ah- _ha!_ She didn't want to!  Now, if I know Rose Tyler, it's that no power on Earth can get Rose to do something she doesn't want to do." He went to straighten his tie, but of course, there wasn't one, so he just ended up smacking himself in the chest.  Well, he ended up smacking Mickey in his chest. 

You know what? I think you get the idea. 

Mickey scowled. "Well, if that doesn't tell me all I need to know about yours and Rose's relationship, that's about all I need to know."

"You don't _need_ to know anything!" The Doctor protested firmly. 

"Doctor?"

"Rose!" Both men shouted at once, looking at each other with wild panic in their eyes. They knew they couldn't hide something like this from Rose. She was too smart. She'd be onto them in a heartbeat.  Mickey rubbed his nose and winced at how unfamiliar it felt. 

"How should we handle this?" The Doctor asked, tripping over his feet because Mickey's feet were considerably bigger than his.  He righted himself and tugged on his jacket. 

"I don't know, boss, aren't you supposed to be the almighty genius?" Mickey replied smartly.  

"I _am._ Just... Not really when it comes to Rose."

"Well, apparently you're an expert when it comes to-"

"Mickey! No!"

"What are you boys up to in here?"

Rose skipped in, zipping up her hoodie and throwing herself down in the jump seat.  "Come on, I thought we were going to go somewhere."

"We are!" Mickey said, trying to sound like the Doctor.  He bounced about a bit and the Doctor scowled, feeling a bit insulted.

"What's wrong with you?" Rose asked.  Oh, she could see right through anything, this girl.

"Nothing!" Mickey replied, "Absolutely nothing is wrong with me!  Surely you know that! Big, genius brain, I can't afford to have something _wrong_ with me."

The Doctor scowled and decided that he might as well tell Rose, because she was probably going to find out anyway.  She was quite good at that, to be quite honest.

'Rose, something's happened to us."

'What's that, Mick?"

"I'm not Mickey."

Rose opened and closed her mouth, then crossed her arms. "Explain?"

"We swapped bodies."

She snorted, which was not the reaction that either of them were expecting. Then she covered her mouth to muffle all the giggling that she was going.  She shook her head and looked at them again before snickering.  "I can't.... Oh if it were any other two blokes I'd never believe you, but this is something else."

"So you believe us?" Mickey asked hopefully.

"I've seen enough to know that you couldn't possibly lie about this." Rose assured them. "How did you-? Never mind, I'm not sure I even want to know."

"Well, we've got to fix it," the Doctor said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We were gonna... We were planning on hiding it from you, but you're really just too clever."

"Don't I know it," she preened. "And even if you hadn't told me., you probably would've done a poor job of solving it."

"You don't know that!" Mickey protested.

Rose nodded adamantly. "Oh, yes I do!  I know exactly what both of you are like, don't pretend.  Now, how did you get into this mess.  It's quite a good one."

The Doctor scowled. "Well, I'm glad _you_ think this is funny, because Mickey over here has been insulting us and me and-"

"Whoa! Hey there.  Stop."

"You have?" Rose turned to Mickey, who was really the Doctor, and it was actually starting to boggle her mind a bit, all this confusion.  "And what exactly have you been doing?"

"He was trying to get out of me things we've... Done. Together."

Rose colored deeply and avoided both of their gazes.

"Oh, you bloody snitch! She didn't need to know that!"

"It's our ship, Mickey!  I can tell her whatever's been said on it if I think she needs to know!  She's the one who gets to decide if you stay on after all!"

"Our?"

"Yes, our," the Doctor said impatiently, "We go halves on it, you live here too, you know, Mickey's just a guest."

Rose bit her lip, trying not to smile too wide, because that admission was really just too good to be true.  She nodded resolutely. "Right then," She said, "Time to get you two lads out of this mess.  I think you've been through enough and Doctor? We'll talk later."

"Oh, no, is this about? I didn't tell him anything, honestly!"

"I know you didn't.  Or at least, I hope you didn't."

"Why, what's to tell?" Mickey asked curiously.

"Mickey!" Rose shouted. "None of your business!  None of it is.  My God.  Now, how did this happen?"

"Well, we were going through the vortex when kablam! Something shakes and I'm on the opposite end of the console room in the Doctor's body," Mickey crossed his arms, looking quite annoyed.  

"It's a bit more complicated than that," The Doctor snapped, "We were pushed together when we went over a shift in timelines, and they shifted the wrong way and... Here we are. Just be glad you weren't here, Rose, it would've been a three way swap."  

Mickey smirked and Rose shuddered. 

"Look, how are we gonna fix it then?" She demanded.

"We have to shift the time lines again," the Doctor explained.

"Then do it," Rose said bluntly.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I don't know if you've noticed, Rose, but Mickey here has stubby fingers, and mine are quite-"

"Elegant," Rose nodded.  "Yeah."

Mickey raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Rose blushed and looked away.

"Long story short, I can't pilot the TARDIS when I'm him.  Your hands are better," he almost reached for her hand but saw he still had Mickey's hands and scowled.  

Rose giggled. "So you want me to pilot you back into the timelines?"

"Yes, and then sprint away so that you don't get caught up in it. And I mean leg it, Rose," The Doctor said seriously.

"I can do that."

"Good! Now, come here."

The list of instructions wasn't very complicated, as the Doctor showed Rose what to press and where and when, until finally she was about to hit the final button.  

"Press it and run!" The Doctor shouted.  Rose did so and ran all the way to her room before the Doctor called her back out and his voice sounded decidedly _him._

"That was bloody awful!" Mickey said from his spot on the floor. "Why did that hurt?"

"Couldn't say," The Doctor said nonchalantly. He grinned at Rose.  "Hello."

"Hello."

Mickey sat up and glared at them. "So are you going to tell me what's going on between you two or do I have to keep guessing?"

Rose blushed and the Doctor jammed his hands into his pockets. It appeared they had a lot of explaining to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and John meet over the last Turkey on Christmas Day

 

She was very very busy and had a lot of things to do to find a turkey for Christmas. On Christmas. Which was, probably, a bad idea. But her mother told her to rush out and get one, and so she went out and tried to fetch one.

The only problem was, when she reached the supermarket, there was one turkey left on the shelves. But just as she was reaching for it, she saw a manlier, hairier hand reach for it. They both pulled their hands away and looked at each other. Rose blinked at the dark haired man in front of her, with expressive eyes and an angular face.

"Hi, yeah, scuse me," Rose said eloquently, picking up the turkey. The man's face fell and she immediately felt guilty. She shuffled her feet and set the turkey back. "Um. Go on, then," she said softly.

"No, no, you got here first, of course, go on, you take it." He said, gesturing over to the turkey, "I couldn't."

"I don't want to take Christmas dinner from your family," she said.

"And I don't want to take from yours," he said insistently.

She smiled a little. "It's okay," she said, "I think my mum will live."

He grinned at her, and she could easily get caught in a smile like that. It could draw anyone in, she wondered. She glanced at his left hand and noted the lack of ring.

"You know, I think she might not really like it," the man laughed, "You should take it."

They stood at a deadlock and Rose knew that they weren't going to go anywhere like this. She laughed, and held her hand out to his. "I'm Rose Tyler."

He smiled bashfully at her, "I'm John Smith," he said, "It's nice to meet you, it really is, I'm sorry that we had to meet this way, though."

"Me too," Rose admitted. "My mum just sent me out, it's just me and her for Christmas, that's all. It's no big deal, I'm sure your family needs it more."

John opened and closed his mouth and looked away from her, spots of color appearing on his cheeks. He took his hand out of hers and rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. "I don't... Um... That is to say-"

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, stepping towards him a bit. He didn't make eye contact with her for several moments, and then finally looked at her again.

"I don't have a family,' he said softly.

She felt herself soften. "What?"

"I don't have a family," he said again, a bit more pained this time. "I wanted to cook a turkey so I could feel like I was part of a family again." His eyes suddenly widened, as though he couldn't believe he'd just said that. "Oh, no, you're a stranger, I just said that to a _stranger,_ oh, my God, I'm so sorry-"

"No, wait!" She grabbed his arm as he started to move backwards and away from her. "I'm glad you said something then."

"That was very embarrassing, Miss Tyler, please just let me go."

"No!" She said, probably a lot louder than she should've. "Nobody should be alone on Christmas. I'll buy the turkey, come have Christmas with us."

"I couldn't intrude like that," he said, quite firmly, and she thought that that would probably be the end of it, but he hadn't bet on Rose Tyler being so stubborn.

Rose shook her head. "Yes, you can," she said, "I want you to!"

"You don't know me!" he cried, bewildered.

Rose giggled. "Yeah, well, I've decided I'd like to get to know you better."

"Miss Tyler, thank you, but no. That's not necessary. I'm a grown man, I can spend a Christmas alone if I need to. It's really quite that simple."

He pulled out of her grip and started to walk away. She felt a bit panicked. She knew if she let him go she'd just be worrying about him all night, and what a lonely man he looked, when she looked at him closely. His eyes were sad where they must have been expressive when he had people to be expressive with. She decided she didn't want him to be lonely. he was quite fit after all, and rather kind, and he was giving up his Christmas for hers. In her mind, he was already boyfriend material.

"Now, you wait, John!" She shouted. Oh, if there was one thing Rose Tyler was good at, it was making a scene. She put her hands on her hips. "You can't walk out on me! Look at this useless lump of mine!" she gestured to a woman next to her. "See this? This use of a man I've got with me? He can't stand to have Christmas with my mother! See that, John? You're making me make a scene!"

He blushed deeply, which she could see when he turned around, and rushed over to her, grabbing her arms. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get you to have dinner with my mum and I," She said, "No one should be alone on Christmas, Mr. Smith."

"I can be!" He protested. "And now I'm embarrassed, on top of it. Thanks a lot," he griped, and started to move away from her, but she grabbed his arm.

"I will follow you home," she threatened. "If you don't come to Christmas dinner with me and my mum, I'll sit outside your house and then I'll be alone for Christmas too."

He froze at that, like it was a bigger deal for her to miss Christmas than him. He opened and closed his mouth, then scowled at her. "You're really a piece of work, aren't you?"

She nodded, grinning happily. "And on top of it, you should give me you phone number so if you skip out on showing up, I'll call you and call you until you come."

He eyed her carefully. "Or, Miss Tyler, do you just want my phone number?"

She looked up at him bravely. "Why can't it be both?"

John blinked and found himself giving his phone number to this woman he didn't know one bit. She picked up the turkey and smiled at him. "Merry Christmas, John. I'll see you at six, I've already put the address in your phone." She gave him a wink and skipped off towards the check out, leaving him phone in hand and wondering what, exactly, had happened.

Rose had told her mum about John and Jackie had felt so proud of her daughter for inviting the young man for Christmas. She immediately set about the hustle and bustle of preparing the dinner and Rose just laughed. That was just how her mother was, really. She tidied up and helped her mum cook until the doorbell rang.

If a doorbell could ring uncertainly, this one did.

She opened the door and saw the most confused looking John standing before her, as though he wasn't quite sure how he'd gotten there to begin with. She smiled. "Nice to see you," she said, "You found your way here, I see."

"Yes, I did," he said, "I wasn't going to come, I'm intruding on your family and your Christmas and-"

She grabbed his hand and tugged him in, shutting the door behind him before he could even think about leaving. The result was them standing very close to one another, John staring down at her in shock. Rose smiled. She knew exactly what he was thinking. She could tell he was attracted to her, and she was planning on using it.

"Oh, is that himself, then? Hello!" Jackie emerged from the kitchen, beaming. "Nice to meet you."

"Mrs. Tyler," John shook her hand and smiled bashfully.

"Can I take your coat?" Rose asked.

"Um, I don't think I'll stay, I'm-"

"If you say you're intruding I'll rip you up," Jackie scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "You were alone and it's bloody Christmas, so you're going to stay with us tonight, is that understood?"

"Y-yes ma'am," John said as Rose removed his coat and took it to the closet. She returned to the main portion of the flat just as Jackie was putting John to work in the kitchen. She giggled a little to herself and followed on, helping out as well.

It all went quite smoothly, John thought. He helped them cook and Rose was quite... Alluring, if he did say so. She was kind and interesting to talk to and he didn't know if he'd ever met anyone more interesting. She smiled a lot, and he hadn't seen someone smile so much in a very long time.

And then they all sat down to dinner. And the conversation was never awkward, and he found himself opening up to them in a way he hadn't opened up to anyone before. Rose's eyes were honest and full and he was very, very glad that she had given him (or forced him to take) her phone number.

And at the end of the night, when he was full and happy and had watched two Christmas movies and sat _very_ close to Rose on the couch, Jackie begged off to bed, wishing him a merry Christmas. After she left, it wasn't long before John realized he needed to be going as well.

"Thank you for having me," he said when Rose handed him his coat. "I really appreciate it."

"Well, you shouldn't have refused so many times. A Tyler always gets her way, John, never forget that."

He laughed, "I don't think I will." He shrugged his coat on and looked back at her. "I'm really glad I came. Thank you."

She smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course. I'll give you a call?"

Her voice was filled with hope and John nodded earnestly. "Yes, yeah, of course."

She giggled a little at him and nodded. "Okay."

As he was walking towards the door, something hit him in the forehead that certainly hadn't been there before. Rose nearly groaned aloud at her mum's antics when she saw it was a sprig of mistletoe that hung down. John turned to her, smiling shyly.

"You know, tradition is tradition," he said, standing before her.

She nodded and placed her hands on his shoulders, smoothing out his lapels. "You're right, it is," she said slowly.

His hands settled softly on her waist. "And it would be... A shame, really, to waste tradition."

"Such a shame."

"So maybe we should-"

"John?"

"Uh. Yes, Rose?"

"You should kiss me before we're on New Year's, yeah?"

He chuckled. "Speaking of, would you like to come out with me that night?" he asked softly.

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hm."

"Oh! Good," and with that, he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It was chaste and sweet and didn't last very long at all, but she couldn't remember a better kiss in all her life.

"I'll see you, then," Rose said when he pulled away.

"Yeah, see you. Thank you Rose. And merry Christmas."

She smiled, watching him as he headed out the door. "Yeah," She murmured to herself, her arms wrapping around herself to keep out the cold. "Merry Christmas."

And so it was.

And so were all the other Christmases after it.


	4. Santa's Helpers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Red Bicycle and a tender admission

    
"Now, Rose Tyler, I'm going to show you something you've never seen before."    

Rose cocked an eyebrow at him.  "You do that pretty much every day.  Why is this any different?" 

   "Because you have been living a lie."   

 "What?"  

  He grinned at her across the console, the green light making him look a bit madder than usual, and she laughed at it, because there was nothing else to do when the Doctor was being mad like that.     

"Christmas is this month!" he said happily.    "Yes, it is," she replied, smiling at him. "Why are you so excited about it?"

    He shrugged. "Didn't really get a proper go of it last time, did we?  I was all... Sick, and you were... Confused, and then the Sycorax attacked and really that was inconvenient of them, wasn't it?" He blew out his cheeks. "Really, you'd think they'd have some sense of class. It was Christmas!"   

 "Doctor? You're babbling. Are you trying to make a point, because I'm not really seeing one."  

  "Oh, yes, of course," the Doctor replied,"Well, I'm going to take you back in time to show you something very special, and then we're going to help out Santa Claus for a night." 

   Rose opened and closed her mouth, a little confused.  He had made a jab about Santa Claus in his last body, and a red bicycle when she was twelve, but she wasn't sure if he had been kidding or not. He could've just known things, after all.  Although, that had been after they'd picked up Jack, so he would've had time.  But that didn't mean Father Christmas existed, that meant the Doctor existed, and she already knew that. So she chalked it all up with one, quite elegant-  

  "What?"   

 "Don't tell me you don't know who he is. You couldn't, that would be a lie. But like I said, before we do that, I need to show you something."

    "Why? What's-" 

   "Just trust me?" he implored her, looking at her with eyes soft and full of something she wasn't sure she would dare call vulnerability.  She swallowed and nodded, because if there was one thing she did, it was trust the Doctor.  He'd done a lot of stupid things, and made a lot of stupid mistakes, but somehow, right here, right now, she could tell this wasn't going to be one of those times. He was doing something for her, which he did all the time, but she could tell by his nervous and anxious babble that this was different.   

  "Are you feeling alright, though?" she asked, more testing him than anything else, "You're awfully jumpy." 

   "Yes, I suppose I am," he admitted.  "I expect you'll see why in a moment... You know what?  I've decided we're helping Santa first!  Would do well to have a poignant moment at the end of the evening, don't you think?"   

 "You're babbling again."    

"This time was on purpose," he said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning sheepishly at her before throwing himself back into the work of piloting the TARDIS. She held on for dear life, as she always did, and laughed when he smiled over at her. She quite suspected that these were her favorite times with him.   

   When they finally landed, the TARDIS must have taken mercy on them, because they didn't fall, they were just jerked a little, and Rose had a feeling she would have a little headache later at the very most.  

    "Grab your coat, let's get going!" The Doctor said, snapping his fingers.  Rose rolled her eyes and hurried from the room, grabbing her coat from her bedroom and putting on her gloves for good measure. If the Doctor wasn't lying, they were at the North Pole. 

   "So, what?" Rose asked as she trotted back out into the console room. "Santa can't be a TIme Lord, so what is he?"

The Doctor, unfazed by her remark, reached down and took her hand, threading their fingers together. He frowned a little at the feeling of the fabric separating them.  "Well, no, he's not a TIme Lord of course, but there are several species that are similar.  And of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus are immortal. The most beautiful love story of all time, and it's never truly been told." 

   "How so?" Rose asked.  They stepped out of the TARDIS and into what looked like a snowy wasteland. Rose knew better than to judge a book by its cover, though, and this was no exception.   

   "Well, the species that Santa and his wife are is Ech'ordian."    

"Bless you."  

   "Thank you.  Now, the reason their story is so special is because they know they're immortal. The Ech'ordian people have specific times when they can reproduce, just because you can't have a whole world of immortal people running about. The only way they can be truly killed is by decapitation."   

 Rose shuddered.   

 The Doctor didn't notice and continued, "By deciding to be with each other, Mr. and Mrs. Clause literally agreed to be together forever. A bit romantic, don't you think?"   

 Rose smiled at the thought, "Yeah, I guess it is. But that would mean you'd have to be really certain about your one true love, wouldn't you?"   

 "Well, you know what they say. Sometimes you just know," he said absently, but he wouldn't look at her after he spoke the words, making her wonder exactly what he had meant by all of that.  

  They continued walking until the lights of a village started to shine. Rose made him break into a run, as she was starting to grow cold and would very much like to be near people and heat, thank you very much. He ran with her, as he always did, because he didn't want to let go of her hand.    

"Oh!" Rose cried when the reached the village, her breath heavy and her cheeks red from exertion. The Doctor beamed at her with fondness.  

   The village looked like it was made of candy, but there weren't any elves. It was all full sized people, the women in green dresses and the men in green suit jackets and breeches, their shirts and socks white and red, respectively.   

   "But they're not elves," she whispered, "Are they Santa's helpers?"    

He sent her a Look. "Rose, come now, we're past that sort of intolerance. The idea of elves is a myth. Well, unless you count the places there are elves... Well."

Rose rolled her eyes.  "It's not intolerance," she insisted, "I was raised on the idea that the elves help Santa." She looked around at the people,"They're all rather lovely, though," she said, a little wistfully, thinking of her own imperfections (as any woman does).

The Doctor looked at her in disbelief. "You can't be telling me that you think these women are more beautiful than you are." She didn't reply because she was absolutely stunned, but the Doctor took her silence as something else and rolled his eyes.  "Oh, Rose, come on, you know you're lovely. Let's go."

Still a bit gobsmacked, she let the Doctor drag her along to where the biggest building in the village was, tall and red and looked like it was made of gingerbread.  Inside was the friendliest looking factory she'd ever seen. Everyone was smiling and making toys, some by machine and some by hand. She felt her mouth drop open. It felt like it was straight out of a movie.He smiled at her reaction and leaned down to her ear, squeezing her hand. "Let's go see the big man, eh?"

She laughed and let him drag her along, because that was what they did. He brought her through the factory, greeting all the people inside along the way. She smiled too, not sure what she was supposed to do.

They got to the back of the factory, and inside two elaborate large doors was a man that Rose had denied the existence of since she was about thirteen.  He sat behind a giant mahogany desk with holly carved into it. It was quite festive, and the whole room,  carpeted in red, was the most Christmassy room she'd ever seen. 

"Doctor!" Santa Claus said, standing up.  He smiled and extended a hand.  The Doctor walked right up to the man and shook his hand.

"How are you, there, Chris?" The Doctor asked happily.

"I'm well.  You _would_ come at the busiest time of the year."

"Well, we've come to help you."

Santa released the Doctor's hand and beckoned to Rose. "Rose Tyler," he said.

Rose felt her mouth drop open. "How do you-"

"He knows if you've been bad or good," The Doctor reminded her.  Rose smiled a little bashfully, and walked up to the desk.  

"Hello," she said, a little uncertainly, and shook Santa's hand. 

"So, what can we do?" The Doctor said, rocking back on his heels. "You know, I had a feeling you were having a tough time this year," he touched the side of his nose.

Santa's eyes sparkled, and he nodded. "You're gonna show her?"

"Um. Yeah. I'm gonna show her."

"Show me what?"  Rose asked curiously.

"Well, never mind that, we'll talk about that _after_ we help," the Doctor smiled and scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, then, you two can help in the teddy bear section until midnight, and then you can visit around if you'd like," Santa smiled, "I never know where to deliver your presents to, Doctor."

The Doctor smiled. "I don't need any presents," he said, "Don't you only do that for children?"

Santa raised his eyebrows.  "Exactly."  Rose giggled and he winked at her. 

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, we'll be off then.  See you later."

Santa waved at them and Rose couldn't stop herself from looking over her shoulder several times before they walked out the door. 

"That was Santa."  She said bluntly.

"Yes, it was."

"That was _Santa Claus."_

"Yes."

"Oh, my God!" She laughed, "I can't believe it."

The Doctor laughed with her and they worked in the teddy bear room, which was good fun, considering the 'elves' were good fun as well. She chatted with them and the Doctor watched her fondly.  

When midnight struck, the Doctor dragged Rose out of the building and through the town so they could watch Santa take off into the night.  She watched in awe as the vision from her dreams, the man in the sleigh with reindeer pulling it, flashed past her in real time.  She laughed breathlessly and waved wildly, like he could see her.  The Doctor just waved with her, and then tugged her close to his side when she started to shiver. 

"I have something I want to show you," he whispered.

"Is this what you've been all sneaky about?" She asked as Santa's sleigh disappeared into the sky.  

"Yes," he said, "And I probably should've shown it to you a long time ago."

She finally turned to him, wondering why he was being so cryptic.  "Well, then, lead on."

He did, but when they landed behind the Powell Estates, she gave him an odd look.  He shook his head and just tugged her out into the street and up to her mother's flat.  And then _through_ her mother's flat to the back of the dining room.  She let him tug her down behind the table. 

"Doctor, what are you-"

"Shh."

She soon saw why he shushed her.  The tell tale sound of a TARDIS materializing came to her attention and the Doctor, her first Doctor, stepped out of the TARDIS, wheeling a red bicycle with him.  Rose felt her jaw drop.  The leather-clad Doctor placed the bike with meticulous care next to the tree and smiled before crouching down to write a card.

"Dear Rose," The Doctor in pinstripes whispered next to Rose as her first Doctor wrote, "You have had a rough year.  You deserve this.  Merry Christmas.  Love, Santa Claus."  And, inexplicably, he pressed a kiss to her temple.

Rose lifted her hand to her mouth and felt her vision start to cloud with tears.  She watched as her first Doctor gave the bike a satisfied little pat and disappeared back into the TARDIS.

As it de-materialized, Rose looked over at her Doctor and wiped her eyes.  "Doctor? That really was you."

He smiled at her. "Yeah.  It was me."

"Why?" 

"I saw how much your family struggled, learned how much your mum gave up for you, and she still didn't' feel like it was enough, so I... Tried to help out, a little," he smiled bashfully at her.  

She leaned over from where she knelt on the floor and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she whispered. 

"You're welcome.  Rose?"  He sounded unsure and careful. 

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

She pulled back and looked at him.  "What?"

"I love you," he said again.

She was a little confused, to say the least, "So why did you-"

"I bought you the bike because I loved you, even then," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  "You just... I needed you to know."

She kissed him on the cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck.  "I love you too."

He made a happy noise in the back of his throat.  "Merry Christmas, Rose."

"Merry Christmas, Doctor."

After a few more moments of hugging, they went home.  


	5. Christmas Cookies Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor takes Rose to a planet where it's always Christmas (Part 1 of 2)
> 
> (Chapter 4 might have a part 2 as well)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry some of these aren't terribly long! It's a bit hard to keep up with this and my two other stories. but I'm doing my best!

"Always Christmas?" She said skeptically, walking out of the TARDIS doors and crossing her arms over herself, trying to keep warm.    

"Yep!" He said happily, rocking back on his heels. "I've brought you to the daily tree lighting ceremony."   

 She giggled and pushed her shoulder against his once he'd shut the door behind him. 'Have you been here before?"    

"I've popped by, yes.  The planet called Christmas." 

   "What, not 'Christmas V' or something like that?" Rose asked, a bit of lip in her tone that even though the Doctor said he didn't like, he really did.  

  He rolled his eyes at her, playing along with her playful attitude. "No, of course not, Rose. Christmas V is on the other end of the universe. Honestly, what are you like?"  

  She felt her jaw drop as he wrenched her hand out from her personal cocoon and held it in his. "There really is one? I was just kidding."    

"I know you were just kidding," he said, "But you were also right. This just happens to be the first Christmas planet, so it got the right to the name.  Pretty brilliant, isn't it?"

    "It kind of is," she admitted, "But lighting the tree, every day? Don't they get bored or something?"    

The Doctor looked over at her, watching her nose start to go red in the cold. It was really all he could see of her, since she had on a giant parka with the hood pulled up, fur outlining her pretty face.  He snapped himself out of staring at her and stared forward at the quaint, snowy little town before them.  "Nah," he said, "They love it.  It's why they moved here.  Plus, a lot of people come here on holiday, so there isn't really anything for them to miss, you see."  

  "So the excitement never quits?" Rose asked, grinning up at him.  

  Now that he could see her whole face, he looked down at her and smiled back at her. "You bet," he said, squeezing her gloved hand and tugging her into his side. "Now, isn't that nice?  All that Christmas cheer, just begging to burst out of you?" 

   "Oh yeah, but you're the one really full of it."    

"Oi!" 

   She laughed, briefly laying her head on his shoulder to show that there were no hard feelings between them.  He grinned to himself, not wanting to admit to her that he had brought her because he felt as though he had ruined her last Christmas.  He wanted her to be happy, and he hadn't made her so last Christmas.  

   "So, we've got about an hour before the light the tree, so we can get some cookies and get a good spot?" he said hopefully.  She nodded and that put a little extra pep in her step, making him lengthen his strides to keep up with her, though it wasn't necessarily hard to do so.  He followed her and then pulled her to a little bakery that made what he claimed were 'the best' Christmas cookies."  

  "I dunno, Doctor," She said skeptically as they looked on the board at the bakery, "You've never had my Christmas cookies before, and I make some pretty grand ones."  

  "Well, you'll have to make me some, but not today of course.  Here, we'll buy a few extra and I'll put them in my pocket, and then when we go home you can make some and we'll compare."    

"And you'll have no bias, of course?"  

  "Oh, of course, what sort of a man do you take me for, after all?"    

 She giggled, "You know, a man like you can be a bit unfair.  Seeing as you've saved worlds upon worlds over and over again."  

  "Well, when it comes to you, you always win."   

 "I don't want my cookies to win just because you like me better!"   

 They got their cookies, and Rose had to admit that yes, Doctor, they were very good, and then they got a spot at the base of the tree. When Rose finished eating she laced her arm through the Doctor's, cuddling up to his side against the cold.  Her hood had fallen down, leaving her in just her purple beanie hat.  She beamed up at him as they began the countdown from sixty.  

    "What are you plotting?" he asked her, watching the mysterious expression on her face. 

   "You'll see when they light the tree." 

   'What did you do?" His eyebrows raised in alarm. "It's usually me that does things."    

She sighed, "Don't worry Doctor, it's nothing completely Earth shattering, but of course.... You know, actually, I'll let you be the judge of that."   

 He could feel her pulse against his side (superior Time Lord senses and all) and it was quite elevated.  She was certainly up to something.  

   Lights lit little by little, until, when the clock hit '0' the mile-high tree exploded into color, fireworks shooting off behind it. Rose gasped, she had clearly not been expecting something so spectacular.  She gaped for a moment before the cheering began to deafen her and she remembered what she had been gearing up the courage to do for a few days now.  She turned to the Doctor, who was watching her expectantly, and cupped his cheek with one hand.    "Merry Christmas, Doctor," she said above the din.    

"Merry Christmas, Rose." He said, still staring at her curiously. 

   She smiled and tugged him down, kissing him soundly.  It took him a moment, but he responded rather enthusiastically, changing himself around so he could wrap both arms around her waist.  She linked onto his neck and he lifted her slightly, deepening the kiss before pulling back.  His lips and cheeks were red and he looked properly ruffled, making her feel quite proud of herself, if she was honest.  He smiled softly and kissed her nose.    

  "Merry Christmas indeed," he said next to her ear, and pulled her in for a tight hug. She buried her face in his neck and squeezed him close.  

  This was either the start of something quite new or the start of something that the Doctor was going to ignore when they went home. She watched the tree over his shoulder, her nose pressed into the fabric of his coat.  Oh, yes, she decided as she watched the lights sparkling merrily. This was going to be her best Christmas yet.   

 "Let's go home," he rumbled in her ear. "I think there's a cookie recipe I'm supposed to try."    

She pulled back and looked at him, searching for some reassurance. He gave it to her, swooping down and kissing her.  "Of course," he whispered, "I hadn't wanted to stay here very long anyway."        

She laughed, unable to restrain her joy, and they ran together back to the TARDIS.


	6. Christmas Cookies Part 2

 

"So, these cookies you were talking about-?"

They hadn't kissed anymore since they'd been in the TARDIS, and Rose wondered if perhaps it was just too familiar a spot for them to be snogging in, that maybe they had to work up to that.

"I'll make them," she said, "But you can't look."

He cocked an eyebrow at her and stepped closer to her, making the galley feel one thousand times smaller than it had before. She swallowed hard and waited for him to speak.

"I can't look? Well, how am I supposed to know that you didn't just ask the TARDIS to do it?" He asked.

She laughed. He sort of had a point. The TARDIS was quite kind to Rose and mostly let her do exactly what she wanted.  She gestured towards the table. "Alright, well, go sit down, can't bake with you breathing down my neck, can I?"

Even though he wasn't breathing down her neck, it felt like he was. He was far too close, just across the room, and for once, he wasn't distracted.  She had expected him to bring something to tinker with, but no. He watched her the whole time, dead silent.

Her nerves started to get the best of her and she wondered if maybe he was being so quiet because he was waiting for a way to kick her out of the TARDIS. He'd crossed a line, after all, they both had.  Maybe he decided he'd gotten it out of his system with just one kiss.  She blew out her cheeks and continued the process of baking.  

"Rose?"  she heard him put his feet up on the table.  "Are you done yet?"

"You're watching me," She retorted, "You know I'm not done."

After a few moments she pushed the cookies into the oven and stood back up to look at him.  "We've got a bit of time to-"

He stood up abruptly, and in that one moment she noticed that he had set all the cookies from their trip on the table, orderly on one side.  The other side was left for hers, she assumed.  But it was how quickly he had gotten to stand in front of her that really startled her.

She furrowed her brows. "How did you go so fast? I don't-"

He grabbed her by the waist and tugged her against him, making her gasp.  His fringe brushed her forehead and he leaned a little closer to her. 

"I wonder if it's Christmas, but I-"

"It's Christmas every day there," she said, her nervousness betraying itself in her tone.  He smiled at her.  

"Rose.  You and I both know that every time we experience Christmas, we get a little closer."  he tugged her up against him and she swallowed hard.  She blinked at him. 

"Doctor, why tonight? What are you doing?"

He closed his eyes for a moment.  "I think... I think tonight I realized I've almost lost you too many times to count."  He looked at her again.  "And I don't want to lose you."

She raised her hands to his shoulders.  "Doctor, you're never going to lose me."

"I could, though, it's so possible.  You're fragile, and you're jeopardy friendly, and I don't say that to be condescending, it's just because you're kind and I... Oh, bollocks."

She smiled and squeezed him a little tighter.  "Go on."

"I want to be with you properly, if you'll let me," he whispered, "I don't want to pretend any more."

"Is that what we've been doing?" She asked lowly, "Pretending?"

"I certainly think so," he said, searching her gaze. "Dancing around one another, trying not to get to close.  But I'm rather close, Rose. It would hurt more if I lost you and I didn't _have_ you."

"And Christmas brought all this on?"

"Christmas makes me very emotional, Rose Tyler."

She giggled and pressed her forehead to his.  "Well, you've got some cookies to eat, I think."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and stepped back, grinning like a loon.  The TARDIS, sensing that she needed it, sped up the cooking process and Rose took the cookies out of the oven, throwing them on a plate and putting them on the table.  

"Well, hurry up." 

He looked at her oddly. "What are you on about?"

"I'll tell you when you've decided which cookie is better."

He sat down and she sat across from him, her elbows on the table and watching him carefully.  He picked up the cookie from the planet they'd just been on and took a bite of it.  His eyes didn't leave hers the whole time he chewed. She swallowed, hard, and somehow the room seemed too small and too hot.  

After he finished the first cookie, he picked up the other one.  "And you made this with your own two hands.  I saw it."

She nodded and he ate it slowly, still watching her the whole time. When he finished, he dusted his hands off and looked at the plates.  "You know," he said slowly, "I would have to say that you win this round, Rose Tyler."

She grinned and got out of her chair. He followed suit and then walked over to her.  "Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I think I might be a bit bias."

"Yeah?" 

He kissed her then, his hands cupping her cheeks and holding her close.  She moved her hands to his jacket and fisted her hands into it, allowing her mouth to move rather freely over his. He tugged her ever closer and they kissed for so long that she forgot what it felt like to be her own person.  After several long minutes, he pulled back with one last, gentle kiss.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and him close, closing her eyes against the myriad of feelings that were coursing through her.  

He held her about the waist, pressing his nose into the crook of her neck. 

"Happy Christmas, Rose," he said softly, his fingers curling into her shirt. 

"Happy Christmas, Doctor."

It turned into a tradition, every year, to go see the tree lighting that brought them together.

And he made her bake him Christmas cookies. 

That man absolutely _runs_ on sugar, after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Rose Tyler did not get along with John Smith, that was just the rule.  So when they went to a party that both of their friends had been in charge of, she found herself moaning about it the whole time.

"But John's gonna be there, Martha, I can't."

"Yes, you can," Martha rolled her eyes. "It's not gonna be that bad, there will be other people there." 

"Yeah, but he's just such a know it all, Martha. I can't stand the guy."

"Makes for a lot of fun tension though, don't you think?"

Rose looked up from her closet, as she was trying to pick something to wear.  "Martha!"

"It _does."_

Rose rolled her eyes.  "Alright, let's just get ready and go to Keisha's, alright? I don't have time for this."

"Sure you do."  She looked over her shoulder, "By the way, we're playing spin the bottle tonight."

"Oh, God."

The party was a casual affair, so Rose wore a red jumper and dark jeans, and Martha wore a tight fitting green blouse and similar slacks.  They took a cab to Keisha's, and Rose walked down the stairs into Keisha's spacious basement first, Martha close behind.

"Rosie! Martha!" Jack shouted, jumping up from one of the plush couches.  "Can I get either of you lovely ladies a beer?"

"Please," Rose said, and Martha nodded.  Rose sat down on the couch and Martha sat next to her.  Keisha, Shareen, Mickey, Donna, Lee, _and_ the infamous John sat around the couches and on the floor, munching on snacks or drinking.  

"Well, now that you've gotten here, the party can start."  Shareen said, clapping her hands.  "Now, truth or dare or spin the bottle first?"

"God, what are you, twelve?" Rose asked, rolling her eyes. 

"Actually, both games are quite popular in all circles, really, regardless of age."   John piped up from where he sat, and Rose sent him a withering look.

"Wow, of course you would know that," she said, and John glared back at her, though he looked suspiciously... hurt?

"I do know _some_ things, Rose," he said.

"Oh!  Do go on!" She said, leaning forward and pretending to be fascinated. "I'd love to know exactly what you know."

John opened his mouth to respond, probably with a harsh comment, but Jack, luckily, saved the day.

"Calm down, you two, it's too early for the claws to come out," Jack said, entering the room again and handing two beers to Rose and Martha.  "Well, the kind that aren't fun anyway."

"Jack-" John started.

"I hardly think that _you-"_ Rose cut him off.

"No, no, don't mind me," Jack raised his hands in mock surrender, "Come on, then, what are we doing?"

"I told Rose about spin the bottle before we came over here."

"Ooh, seven minutes in heaven?"

"Jack!" 

"Well, we _could."_

Rose rolled her eyes and sipped her beer.  "You know, we could just hang out and drink, like adults."

"Well, Rose if you don't want to play, you could go upstairs and get something to eat," Keisha suggested, not wanting her friend to feel uncomfortable.  

Rose smiled.  "Good idea. Anyone who feels like coming, you can," she said, but then shot John a look that said _but certainly not you._

He looked surprised by her glance so she rolled her eyes before heading upstairs into the house, darkened by everything but Christmas lights.  She set her beer on the counter and walked to the fridge, pulling out a couple things that could be seen as 'holiday treats'.  She heard footsteps come up the stairs and the basement door shut. 

She turned around and saw John.  "Are you _really_ up here?" Rose asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"I'm really confused," John blurted out, furrowing his brows.

She sat up on the counter next to the sink and bit into a biscuit.  "How so?" Rose snapped, "How can you be confused?"

"Why do you hate me?" He demanded.  

She rolled her eyes at him again.  "There can't possibly be.... You can't _not_ know, that's ridiculous."

"No, it's not!" John said, his voice pitched, "You always send me dirty looks and call me names and pick on me and I don't know _why."_

"John, you are such a know it all," She snapped.

He took a step back as though she had physically wounded him.  "I'm a what?"

"You're a know it all, John.  Every time someone says something you have to correct them or make sure they know that you know more about a thing than they do."  She took another bite of the biscuit.  "It's annoying."

He suddenly looked very uncomfortable and rubbed the back of his neck.  "Um.  You know, there _is_ a reason I'm like that."

"What?  There's a reason that every time I see you I have to brag?" Rose arched her eyebrows.  "Really?"

He blushed but he scowled at her anyway. "Yes."

"Wow. I really can't think of a reason for you to be a braggart know it all," she said. 

"I'm... I'm a professor..." he stuttered. 

"Come off it, mate," she said, taking a swig of her beer.  "There's no reason for you to be like that, you know? You're not with your students.  You're with your friends... And me."

He lowered his eyes. "I didn't know that you hated me quite so much, Rose.  I suppose for awhile I thought it was friendly banter."

"Nope."  

"So you really hate my guts?"

"Yeah, quite."

"You don't _know_ me enough to hate me!" he shrieked. 

"Well, everyone talks about how we hate each other, so it doesn't really matter, does it?" She said, "They're probably downstairs wondering why we aren't ripping each other's faces off."

He looked back up at her curiously. "Why _aren't_ we?  If you can't stand me so much?"  He asked. 

She shrugged and popped the rest of the biscuit into her mouth.  "I wouldn't want to break a nail."

His eyes slowly traveled to right above her head.  "Rose?"

" _What,_ John?" She asked. 

All of a sudden, he was in front of her, and she stared down at him, confused.  Not wanting to have the lower hand, which she felt she had, she slipped off the counter and pushed him back, standing before him, her chin tilted in defiance. 

He looked above her again, and then he kissed her. 

She jerked back and slammed into the counter. "What? What?   _What?"_

He blushed again.  "There was... You were under mistletoe, just there," he pointed above her head.  Sure enough, above the counter, a sprig of mistletoe had been unceremoniously taped there.  

"So you thought you could just _kiss_ me?"

"I have to tell you something," he rushed out all in one breath.

"What, John?  What could you possibly have to tell me?"

"I only talk about facts and try to seem smart because I'm trying to impress you," he said, still talking quite fast.  "I didn't think it would make you hate me."

She felt herself soften a little bit, though she wasn't sure why.  "John, are you trying to tell me that you have a crush on me?"

"Yes."

"And you're typically not such a know at all?"

"Not really, I just wanted to- I don't- it was a poor idea, in hindsight," he admitted.  He shifted, "If I wasn't such a know it all, would you, I dunno, want to maybe-"

"You're not awful, when you're not just talking about physics or something.  When we first met, I thought you were a bit fit," she told him, but crossed her arms, trying to protect herself. 

"Oh, well, I thought you were _really_ fit, gorgeous really, so I just decided that I wanted you to be impressed with me."

"I was, until you started talking about how impressive you are."

"Sorry."

"Are you-"

"Can I kiss you again?"

She felt a wave of warmth pass through her at his timid request, and she nodded before she even realized she was nodding. Despite what she thought she thought about John, this, this confession and gentle affection was terribly endearing.  

He cupped her cheeks and bent down to kiss her again.  She removed her arms from her chest and gently touched his waist, afraid to pull him too close, because this was all just physical attraction, wasn't it? 

Except it probably wasn't.  Not really.  There had always been something between them, of course.  

She let him kisser, and soon they grew a bit bolder.  His arms went down to wrap fully around her waist and Rose shoved her fingers into his hair, tugging him closer.  He pressed her up against the counter, but she had a feeling it was just because he stumbled.  She grinned and pulled him in closer. 

"I bloody _knew it!"_

They broke apart at the sound of Shareen's voice, breathing heavily and staring at each other.  

All their friends were standing at the basement door, staring at them. 

"Oh, God," Rose groaned with embarrassment and pressed her nose into John's neck.  

John turned over his shoulder and grinned a little ruefully.  "We sorted out our misunderstanding."

"I can see that," Jack said, waggling his eyebrows.  

John looked back at Rose. "Do you want to go out for some chips? And... Figure this out?"

She lifted her head and nodded.  "Yeah."

"But this is our Christmas party!" Keisha whined. 

"You know, thanks for the mistletoe, Keish!" John said happily, "But I'd like to be in heaven for more than seven minutes."

Rose blushed furiously. "Obviously not for a _long while,_ I, um.  See you tomorrow!" She said as John took her hand and they bolted out the front door.


	8. A Perfect Christmas (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TentooxRose
> 
> Tentoo's first Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might do a part 2 to this one... But I already have tomorrow's chapter planned, so maybe after that:)

 

The Doctor wanted everything to be perfect for their first Christmas together.  Well, their first Christmas together since they had found each other again.  And he was determined not to waste it.  

He had approximately six hours until she got home from work.  He was still in the process of getting documentation and figuring out exactly what it was that he wanted to do.  Which, really, he didn't know yet.  All he knew was that he wanted to be with Rose, maybe not at Torchwood, but with Rose.  And if that had something to do with him having to work for Torchwood, then... Well... He could figure it out. 

So he _hustled._  He dragged a Christmas tree home, all by himself, which he was very proud of, but he left the tree bare so that he and Rose could decorate it later.  He set it up in a corner opposite their telly, nearly in front of the window to their flat.  He put his hands on his hips and stared at it for two minutes straight, just making sure that it was straight up and down. 

He loved Rose.  That wasn't a secret, and she had told him that she loved him too.  It was four months since he had come to Pete's World and it had been two before she kissed him again.  It had been difficult for them to fall into a rhythm but it filtered into kisses good morning and kisses goodbye, and they shared a bed so that they could cuddle and neither of them would wonder whether of not the other one was actually there. 

And it was because he loved Rose that he wanted to make sure everything about their Christmas absolutely perfect.  So after the tree was up, he set the decorations out on the coffee table so that they could go ahead and decorate the tree once she got home. He grinned happily to himself and went about setting up garlands at convenient places around the house, hanging little silver ornaments off of them. He put up lights around the telly and stapled some to the ceiling to the entryway of their hallway, creating an arch of fairy lights.  He wondered, briefly, if she would be angry with him for abusing their walls and ceiling.  But after a few moments he decided he couldn't care less.  

He hung a wreath on their front door, and put out a festive welcome mat with a happy snowman on it.  Once he shut his door he strung TARDIS-blue lights around the window that looked out onto the street.  He tugged the curtains closed so that the blue would reflect off of the white and hoped against hope that she would like it. 

He changed the tablecloth to a red and green one and put a tiny Christmas tree in the center of the table.  He put some of the presents he had already bought her under the tree and glanced around at the flat.  

It was a bit of a hodge podge, and he knew that, and was perhaps a bit embarrassed by it, but it was what they both had, what they'd collected or what Jackie had given them, and that was good enough for him.  

He went ahead a step and put on a channel on the telly that was playing non stop Christmas movies a bit too early and turned the volume down to low.  Everything looked... Perfect.  He put his hands on his hips and smiled happily to himself.

But there was one more thing that he could think of doing. Well, it was something that he wanted her to have. An excuse to cuddle, after all.

He took down the sheets from the hall closet and constructed the most correct and large pillow and blanket fort known to man.  It was structurally sound and after he shoved a couple quilts and pillows from their bed into it, realized that it was the perfect size and faced perfectly for them to snuggle and watch TV.  That was quite possibly the best thing that he had come up with this whole time. 

The rest of the lights in the house were turned off, save for the ones in the kitchen, and checked his watch. He had one hour.  One hour to cook Rose dinner and be ready and pretending that this had cost him minimal effort. Which meant that he was going to have to pretend that he hadn't broken a sweat. He took off his suit jacket, threw it on one of the chairs in the dining room, and hurried off to the kitchen.   

He made a hurried version of Chicken Parmesan because he knew she liked it, and it was something that she had ordered on their first date.  Well, their first proper date when they went on in this world, at least.  He'd been determined to take her somewhere fancy, and she had been determined to let him, since he was all of a sudden so ready for domestics.  

He brought the tv tray in front of the fort and laid two (masterfully crafted) plates with an assortment of vegetables, chicken, and buttered rolls.  The second everything was in place, he heard Rose's key in the lock.  He hurried over to the door and stood in front of it, grinning. 

She opened the door and he found that she was already smiling. "I saw your lights in the window," she said, stepping closer to him.  "What else have you got for- Oh!"

She had turned her head, a little teasingly, and saw his set up of fort, dinner, and Christmas movies.  Entranced, she walked towards it.  "Doctor, did you do this all by yourself?"

"Yes." he admitted, a little bashfully. 

"You cooked me dinner, and made a _blanket_ fort, and you put up all these decorations!  Doctor!" She turned around and threw her arms around his neck.  As surprised as he was, he was never one to refuse a hug from Rose Tyler and he was not about to stop now.  He pressed his hands into her back and hummed happily against her.  She smiled against his neck and squeezed him happily before pulling back and pecking him on the lips.   "Is it cold?" She asked, rubbing her nose against his.

He kissed her, a little deeper than she had kissed him, and when he pulled back he shook his head. "No, I just finished it. You have impeccable timing, by the way."

"Thank you. That makes one of us."

"Oi!"

Soon enough, they were wrapped up in blankets, eating their dinner, watching a film with the volume turned up a bit more than the Doctor had had it.  She was managing to eat with her head rested gently against his shoulder.  

"I love you," she murmured, "I don't think anyone in the world goes to this much trouble for their..."

"Rose?"

"Well, I doubt that every man out there has a _Rose_ specifically, but-"

"Rose, I would do _anything_ for you.  This is just...  Happy Christmas," he said, running out of words.  

"Happy Christmas," she whispered.  "Did you plan this so we can cuddle in the fort all night?"

"Yes."

She leaned up and kissed him, and he cupped her cheek, holding her gently to himself.  After a few moments she separated from him and leaned back in the fort, cuddling under some of the covers he'd provided.  He stripped down to his pants and undershirt and got under the covers with her, trying not to be thoroughly distracted as he was when he saw her wriggling off her trousers under the covers.  

"I think I wanna live in this fort forever," She told him as they settled in together to watch the movie that was currently playing, dirty dinner dishes forgotten. 

"Forever?" He chuckled.

"Mm-hm," She kissed his cheek. "I love you, Doctor."

"I love you, too, Rose."

He glanced at the mouth of the fort, where he had left his trousers, and the little velvet box inside.  He smiled into Rose's hair. That could wait until tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

 

He would tell her, later, that in fact, Time Lords usually did not engage in snowball fights. Really ever, actually. But of course, he didn’t know that that whole snowball fight was coming.

In retrospect, he probably deserved it. He’d gotten them both stuck in a snowstorm, after all, so that was…. A major oversight, on his part. Rose had asked where they were, and he had wanted to surprise her and impress her, so when she opened the TARDIS doors she stepped out and was hit with a gust of wind so strong that it took the breath out of her. She tried to pull her hood up but the wind was too strong.

“Oh, no, I’m gonna get a pair of gloves before we go out in this,” she said, ducking back into the ship.

The Doctor waited for her, his hands buried in his pockets, and really ignored the storm around him. She came back out soon, shoving her hands into her gloves. She grabbed his wrist and he brought his hand out of his pocket so she could lace their fingers together.

“Aren’t you cold?”

He shook his head, frowning. “No. Superior biology,” he said smugly, swinging her hand before going to pull the door to the TARDIS shut. “I am completely fine.”

“What, does the TARDIS put heaters in your coats or something?”

He opened and closed his mouth. “That’s not a bad idea. Maybe we’ll have her do some of that for you when we get back, eh?”’

She giggled. “If she wants to.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “She loves you. Wouldn’t turn down a single thing that you wanted, I don’t think.”

“Sometimes she puts the pool instead of my en suite,” Rose supplied helpfully.

He burst out laughing and bumped her shoulder with his. “You know, she is getting a little old.”

“So are you.”

“Oi!”

She laughed. “I’m just kidding you know.”

“Of course.”

“So where are we?” she asked, changing the subject. “It’s cold as hell, but it’s not Women Wept.”

“Your analogy is bad,” he laughed. “Hell wouldn’t be cold, by your standards of-”

“You’re stalling,” She scolded him.

He scratched the back of his neck and looked around at the snow fall a little awkwardly. “Well, um, that’s because I don’t know where we are?”

“You don’t know where we are? You?” She lifted her eyebrows at him and he scowled playfully at her.

“Believe it or not, I haven’t been everywhere in the galaxy.”

“You haven’t?”

“No,” he said, giving her a surprised look. “Are you… Did you think that I had, or something?”

“Well, you’re nine hundred years old,” she told him, “It’s only fair for me to think that perhaps, maybe, possibly, you’ve been just about everywhere.”

He shook his head. “Well, you’d be wrong about that,” he said, “There are plenty of places I haven’t been.”

“Then why don’t you take me to those, eh?”

“Because I don’t know if they’re safe.”

“We don’t know if here is safe, and here we are, still walking.”

He blinked, and looked a little shocked, as though he himself hadn’t realized that they had been walking the whole time they were walking.

All around them was snow and grey skies. It was all quite beautiful, if she was honest, even if it was a bit cold. She wiggled her toes a little in her boots before they took another step, just to make sure they still worked. One could never really tell, after all, if their feet were going to work or not under such conditions.

“Do you think there’s civilization around here?” She asked him suddenly, wrenching him out of whatever thoughts he’d been burying himself in.

“Maybe,” he said, glancing at the ground. “No footprints, though.”

“That’s probably because it’s snowing.”

“Cheeky. No, if there had been people had been here within the past ten minutes, we would still see footprints. Look back.”

She did and saw that she could still see their footprints all the way back to the TARDIS, which was a bit obstructed by the snow that was falling.

“Are we gonna lose the TARDIS?” She asked, a little worried.

The Doctor tapped his temple with his index and middle finger. “Highly doubtful,” he said smugly. “I can still feel her up here and I’ll be able to get back if I need to, which, of course, at some point, we will have to. I don’t think I fancy living here for the next however many years, how about you?”

She laughed and shook her head a little. “No, I suppose that would be a little boring,” she admitted, “Nice and quiet, though.”

“You don’t like quiet.”

“Well, you’ve got me there.”

They walked along, chatting a little to each other as they went, huddling together without really realizing it. Rose realized, after a few minutes, that they could no longer see the TARDIS, and the snow was coming down a lot harder and faster than it had in just the few minutes before.

“Uh, Doctor?”

“Yes, Rose?”

“I think we’d better find shelter or something, it’s getting kind of bad out here.” She closed her eyes and clung to the Doctor as snowflakes kept finding their way into her eyes.

“I don’t think it’s too bad,” the Doctor said, and jumped a little, putting some spring into his step. Rose felt herself fight back the urge to roll her eyes. Was he really suggesting that it wasn’t cold, and that a storm wasn’t coming? Because if so, that was completely and utterly ridiculous, and she was about to have words with him about it.

She went ahead and took her hand out of his, making him adopt a very adorable and hurt puppy expression, and she bent down to the ground. She scooped up some snow and he was about to ask her what she was up to when a snowball landed square in his chest.

“Rose!”

“What, afraid you’ll lose a snowball fight with a puny human?” she asked, bouncing on her feet, trying to keep warm.

“Rose, Time Lords-”

She pelted him in the stomach and the breath whooshed out of him. He ducked down, grumbling, and she realized that in a way, she had won the battle. He was going to throw that snowball, but the Doctor was known for being generally very clumsy, so she was able to dodge his throw with embarrassing ease.

He scowled at her. “Aren’t you supposed to let me hit you?”

“Doctor, the point is to not get hit. Haven’t you ever done this before?”

“Well, no, actually, if you want to get specific, though-”

“The rules are, don’t get hit, hit your opponent, first to get too cold to continue is the loser.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“You can’t possibly,” he gaped at her. “You can’t get cold if you’re jumping around in all those clothes that way.”

“And you can’t get cold if you have all that superior biology that you always brag about, so I don’t know why you’re so scared.” She turned her nose up at him.

 

He sputtered and adjusted his tie which just made her laugh louder.  He shook a finger at her. "Rose Tyler, maybe I'm just going easy on you.  Maybe you can't handle-"

Since he was getting ready for a good long ramble, she pegged him in the face with a snowball.  She shrieked when he yelled and ducked into the snow, cupping it in his hands until it became a tight little package.  When he stood up, she nailed him with another snowball, but he was ready for her.  His snowball hit her in the stomach. She doubled over, gasping for breath, and he ran to her quickly, feeling guilt rush over him. 

"Oh, Rose, I'm sorry," he set his hands on her shoulders and tried to get a look at her.  "I'm really sorry, just breathe, I'm-"

She tackled him to the ground in response. He cried out and his hands flew to her back as she started to pack snow on his chest.  He rolled her over and she tried to get the upper hand, which led to them tussling in the snow and giggling for a few long minutes before the snow started falling even harder and she shivered from where she lay under him.  

"Cold?" He whispered.

"No."

He smiled.  "If you want, I'll let you win by default, but only because I-" he snapped his jaw shut.  She arched her brow at him. 

"Because why?" She asked softly. 

He kissed her forehead and hauled himself and then her to her feet, tucking her under his arm.  She snuggled into his embrace gladly, letting him lead her along. 

"So what, it was a truce?" She said, still wondering what he had been about to say. 

"Sure, Rose."  

They approached a cabin soon enough, which she suspected he knew to begin with, and he knocked on the door.  When no one answered, he waggled his eyebrows at her and opened the door with ease.  It hadn't been locked. 

However, he locked it behind him, and set about starting a fire. 

"Doctor?"

"Mmhmm?" 

"Did you know this was here?"

"I had a feeling," he said casually.  "The TARDIS wouldn't have stranded us, of course."

"Of course," she admitted, knowing that that was the case most of the time.  So she set about trying to warm up, taking off her wet parka and boots and laid down, cuddling into a down comforter that was on the couch.  She watched him make the fire and shuck off his trench coat as he got it going. 

"This was fun," She said.

"What, getting caught in a snowstorm?" He asked, sounding a little cold himself. 

She laughed.  "Yes," she admitted.  "And the snowball fight, and playing in the snow.  It's fun.  And now I get to cuddle in a picture perfect cabin until the sun comes up."

He turned over his shoulder and grinned at her. "Quite the optimist, you are."

"I try to be."

He shivered and took off his wet jacket before coming over to her. "Could I have a cuddle with you, then? Seeing as you're already nice and warm."

She laughed and opened the blanket to him.  After toeing off his wet chucks he slipped in behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling the blankets up over them.  He kissed her cheek and cuddled against her.  Within minutes, he was spooned up against her and asleep. 

She giggled and closed her eyes, whispering to him in the firelight: "Love you, too."


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, the Doctor decided that it might possibly be the right time. He was wrapped up around her, so much skin pressing against skin that he thought it might drive him absolutely mad. And, really, it was quite a two-for-one, as it was Christmastime _and_ he could make the day special for another reason.

He leaned down and kissed her neck, curling tighter around her. She hummed in her sleep and shifted against him, as she did many days before when she wasn't quite ready to wake up yet but was quite attuned to his presence. That made him quite proud, honestly. That he could capture her attention and affections, even while she was asleep.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, grinning happily. "Hi," she said.

"Hi. Do you want some tea?"

"Yes please."

He leaned all the way over her and kissed her softly. "Make sure you put some clothes on before you come to breakfast, alright?"

She rubbed her eye in confusion. "Why?"

"Because it's Christmas time and that usually means cold, and I don't want you to catch cold," he said, nipping his way down her neck before lifting himself off of her.

"I love our little fort," she whispered, her eyes closing again. He smiled at her words and kissed her cheek once more just for that. He shifted off and tugged on his pants and t-shirt before going to make her tea.

He heard her rustling around and he pulled out the velvet box from his trousers, fumbling a bit before gripping it in his hand and setting the kettle on.

"Rose, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Chips."

"Rose, we can't-"

"It's eleven o' clock, we slept in a little late. We can go get chips after tea."

"Oh. Alright." Well, that was one thing he didn't have to worry about while he was trying to remember all the things that he had planned to say to her. He heard her physically flop back in bed and he bit his lip to stifle a laugh.

"I love you, Doctor," She called out, because both of them were quite loud when it came to how much they loved each other. They said it as often as they could, because they didn't want the opportunities to pass them by.

"I love you too, Rose."

"Mm, think I can get up now, after that."

He chuckled a little at that. 

It was a quiet morning, which he had hated when he had first arrived in Pete's World. He'd looked on the quiet of the world with disdain but found that it was... Peaceful. Being with Rose all day every day, being able to hold her. The danger was almost 100% isolated to Torchwood, and he was fine with it.  He was fine with just existing. Although of course he thought he was more important than that, or he had used to.  

Now?  He was just happy to hold Rose Tyler's hand.  

He heard her getting up and pulling her clothes on before she padded into the kitchen, her hair mussed up and looking quite beautiful in all her glory.  Her makeup was smudged and her appearance utterly disheveled, but she looked beautiful. 

"I have a question for you," he said, taking off the kettle just before it whistled (a good talent of his, really) and poured them both tea. 

"What's wrong with you hand?" She asked curiously. He pressed his palm against his leg and didn't move, afraid that she had noticed the box. 

"Nothing. Why?"

"Because you're not using it.  What's wrong?"

He poured a bit of sugar into her tea and handed it to her.  "Drink your tea."

She took it form him, but furrowed her brow worriedly. "Doctor, is this some Time Lord thing, that you don't want to tell me what's wrong?  It's okay, I won't be mad if you're hurt."

"God, you ruin all the romantic stuff, don't you?" He told her teasingly. 

"What? I didn't spoil anything that happened last night, did I?" she knew she hadn't, so she simply sipped her tea and looked at him over the rim.

"No, you never ruin anything, you're absolutely perfect.  Could you just-" he took the cup out of her hands with one of his and set it on the counter.  She made a sound of protest and he got on one knee to shut her up.

"Doctor?" She said softly.

He drew in a ragged breath and took one of her hands in his free one.  "Rose, I don't know when _exactly_ I started loving you, but I do know that after I started, I never stopped.  You are the only person I ever want to run with, and if I could run with you forever, that would be... Brilliant. I love you, and I wanted to do this yesterday but I got so caught up in decorating and trying to make you happy that I sort of forgot.  But, well, would you... That is... Will you marry me?"

He took his hand from hers to crack open the ring box, showing her the diamond that he had picked out for her.  She pressed her hand in her mouth and tears brimmed in her eyes.  

"Oh, no, have I done something wrong?" He asked, genuinely worried, "Should it have been longer? I-"

"No, Doctor, you're perfect," she reassured him, getting down to be on the same level as him and cupping her cheeks in his hands.  "You are absolutely perfect.  I love you so much, of _course_ I'll marry you." 

Having to restrain himself from crying out in delight, he slipped the ring on her finger and dropped the empty ring box to the ground in favor of cupping her cheeks and pressing his lips to hers.  She kissed him back enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around his neck and gripping him tight.  Soon enough, though, they had to pull away to breathe.  

"This is the best weekend ever," she whispered, and he laughed. 

If he had it his way? All their weekends would be like this.


	11. Chapter 11

"Roooose?"

"What, Doctor?"

"Come here!"

His voice was cheerful and excited, and she giggled to herself. The Doctor was always a bit too enthusiastic for his own good, and she knew that it was really up to her to take care of him. Ever since their relationship had escalated that past month, he hadn't been able to get enough of her, but that was alright, because it went both ways, really.

It had happened rather suddenly. One moment they were dancing at the coronation, and then the next they were in the console room and he was cupping her cheeks, running his thumbs over her cheeks and nose and under her eyes. And then suddenly, he was kissing her hard, pressing her into the console.

And since then, well, they'd been even more inseparable than before.

She got up from the library and walked out from the room, and was immediately caught around the waist by the Doctor. He kissed her softly and looked pointedly up at the ceiling before skipping quite happily down the hallway.

She looked up at the ceiling and saw a sprig of mistletoe. She giggled a little to herself and followed after him, ready for what adventure he had planned.

_*****_

"Rose?"

"Yeah, Doctor?"

"Come here."

"Come here what?"

"Come here, _please."_

Rose got up and breathed out a heavy sigh before making her way over to the edge of the pool room. The Doctor grabbed her again and pulled her in for a longer kiss, his hand slipping up the back of her swimsuit top. She gasped in surprise but kissed him back, knowing that she had enough experience that she knew it was quite a good idea to kiss the Doctor back when he kissed her.

"Doctor, what-" She tried to ask when he pulled back.

"See you in a bit," he said, and after a kiss to her forehead, he left her again. She looked up and smiled softly when she saw more mistletoe there.

She wasn't really sure what he was up to, but she thought she liked it. That man was impossible to understand, really, and sometimes you just had to let him go without questioning. 

***  
"Rose?"

"Yeah, Doctor?" She said from her seat on the couch. Her feet were in his lap, and it wasn't like there was anyone else in the room, so she didn't know why he was saying her name like she wouldn't want to talk to him or something. She looked up from her book and cocked a brow at him. 

He rubbed his hand over her sock covered foot in a little massage that she could say, quite immediately, that no other man had done for her and no other man probably would.  She smiled at him and nodded at him, waiting for him to speak. 

"Come here."

"I'm right here," she said, wiggling her toes at him., 

"Come _here."_

"You are _full_ of it," She giggled, "My feet are in your lap."

"I'd like you to be closer, please," he said softly.  

She scooted closer to him, her feet pushing over to the other side of him, and her bum up against his thighs.  "What's wrong?" She whispered, cupping his cheek. 

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Something has to be wrong for me to want you close to me?" He asked, sounding surprised. One of his hands touched her back, bringing her marginally closer.  

"Well, you've just been a little... You know."

He looked up at the ceiling and then he leaned forward and kissed her gently.  It was a soft, lingering kiss that turned into something much more powerful.  She slid her hands into his hair and his fingers curled into her shirt.  His mouth moved over hers with purpose and then removed himself from her lips, kissing down her neck and his nose brushing her collarbone. He bit her collarbone and she gasped, a little surprised.  

"What's gotten into you?" She asked, her fingers clenching into his hair. 

"Look up," he mumbled, his voice muffled by her skin.  

She went a bit cross eyed as he kissed his way back up her neck, but when she saw the mistletoe she burst out laughing. 

"Doctor, why is there mistletoe literally  _everywhere?"_  She asked, chuckling still.

He removed himself from her skin and looked at her searchingly. "Um. Do you mind, at all?"

"No, of course not," she assured him, "I love kissing you.  But I don't understand why you're pulling out all the stops all of a sudden."

"Rose, we've been... Involved, for about three months now."

"Yes."

"And I was told, or rather, I read, that women in relationships like this get bored with... the regular. You like new and exciting things. Which is fine! Of course, you're allowed to... Um.  Yes." He paused and nodded. "But I thought it might be romantic to see all the mistletoe everywhere."

As touched as she was by the gesture, she was also a bit concerned. She bit her lip. "Doctor?  Do you think I'm bored of you?"

He blushed hotly and looked away from her.  

"Doctor!"

"What?" 

"How could you _ever_ think that? I love you!" She bit her lip.  She hadn't meant to confess that, not really.

"Really?" He whispered, his voice gentle and soft.

It was her turn to blush, but she couldn't tell him that she didn't love him, because she really _did._ She bit her lip and nodded.  "Yeah."

"Rose," One shaky hand cupped her cheek. "I love you too."

She grinned broadly at him and kissed him, her hands fisting in his oxford.  "Now, see, don't need any mistletoe to get me to kiss you, Doctor."

He chuckled, still sounding a little embarrassed. "I suppose not," he admitted, one of his hands going to rest on her knee. 

She laid her head against his shoulder and cuddled right up against him.  "You know, though, that I wouldn't be _opposed_ to the mistletoe." 

"Really, now?" 

"Mmhmm," she said, "Maybe just not all the time."

"It's Christmas soon," he told her. 

"Yes, it is.  Is that what started this?"

"Maybe."

"Well, then, I suppose we'd wait till after Christmas to stop. Just to be safe."

"I love the way you think."

"I'll bet you do."

Although the mistletoe kept itself around for awhile longer, the kissing Rose and the Doctor did _far_ surpassed that.


	12. Secret Santa

Secret Santa wasn’t something that John Smith was fond of doing. He thought it was alarming, picking a gift for someone he didn't’ know very well, and now he had to find a gift for the girl he had been pining over for several years. 

  
There were lots of things he  wanted  to buy for her, but none would be appropriate for someone who was just a mate to give her.   


  
As a result, he found himself wandering through a mall a day before the party where the secret santa gifts would be passed out.  He wound up i the jewelry center of some store, twiddling his thumbs and hoping that jewelry would be appropriate. He wanted her to have something nice.  John knew that she had grown up not having much, and so, he was giong to go over the spending limit to give her something worth having.    


  
Nt a a ring, though.   That would be presumptuous and rude and really, she might slap him for it.  She’d just broken up with her boyfriend, after all, so she probably wasn’t quite ready to receive a ‘ring before spring’ before from one of her mates.     


  
After a few moments of wasting his own time, his eyes were drawn to a rose gold necklace that had a diamond on the end of it.  He stared at it, wondering if she would like it.  Would she think rose gold was a bit too on the nose?  He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at it.  It would look lovely on her, gracing the edges of her collarbones.     


  
He hadn’t noticed it before, but there were a few more diamonds laced through the chain, giving it a bit of extra shine.     


  
Wait no, girls liked silver, not rose gold, didn’t they?  Or regular gold.  Nice, yellow gold. Right?  He felt slightly overwhelmed by it all and he blew out a sigh.   


  
“Can I help you, sir?” An older woman at the glass asked, trying to distract him.    


  
John looked up at her and blinked, still feeling disoriented. “Um. I’m looking for a gift.”   


  
“Right.  What are you looking for?  And who is it for?”   


  
He shifted on his feet, swaying from side to side. “Um.  It’s for a Secret Santa thing, but I have a friend of mine, and, well, I know everything here is above the limit we set, but I want her to have something nice,”   


  
The woman smiled, and John wondered if she could see right through him and what he was thinking.  “So, what were you looking at before I came over?”   


  
John pointed at the rose gold necklace without thinking. “I thought she’d like that, but don’t girls usually prefer silver?”   


  
“It depends on the girl,” the woman replied. “Why was this what you thought of?”   


  
John blushed and looked away, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks. “Her name is Rose, I thought it would be nice.  And I sort of… Well, I fancy her, so I wanted to get her something really nice.”   


  
The woman was practically beaming now. “Of course.  Well, it’s not a popular choice, this necklace, but I think it’s rather nice.  And if you were drawn to it, that must tell you that she would like it as well.”   


  
“That’s what I think. I want her to like it, though, I don’t want her to return it.”   


  
“Tell her you’ll take her shopping if she doesn't like it,” the woman suggested, “That might just win her over for you.”   


John smiled, liking that idea.  “Okay,” he said, “Alright, you’re very good at your job, because you’ve sold me on this.  I’ll take it.”

“Brilliant!”  

He winced at the price, but he had decided as it was being boxed and wrapped for him, that Rose Tyler was one hundred percent worth it.  Even if she never loved him back, he was certain he would be alright with it as long as she wore the necklace around her neck. 

The night of the party came, and everyone sat in a makeshift circle formed by arranging couches and chairs in Mickey Smith’s living area.  The group of friends were chattering excitedly and John held the box in his hand like it was the most important thing in the world.

He caught Rose’s eye and she smiled at him, the gleam in her eyes and expression making his heart pound a little harder in his chest and he wondered if she could hear it, it was so loud.  

“Alright!  It’s time to find out who your secret santa is,” Mickey said, clapping his hands and getting everyone’s attention.  “Shareen, you go first.”

It was all quite boring until it was announced that Keisha had gotten him and she gave him a really nice version of a book that he had been keeping his eye out for.  He thanked her profusely, telling her that she was quite a good friend and a good listener besides.

“Okay, John, now you.”

John stood with the box in his hand and tried not to shake too much as he crossed the room to hand it to Rose.  She smiled up at him as she accepted it into her hands. 

“I’m not sure if you’ll like it,’ He admitted, “If you don’t, I’ll take you shopping for something that you’ll like better.”

“John, I’m sure whatever you got me, I’m going to love,” she said enthusiastically, reaching up to squeeze his hand.

  
He offered her a smile back and went back to the couch, sitting down.  The room was focused on Rose opening her present, because it seemed that everybody  but  Rose knew that John had a massive crush on her and had quite possibly fancied her forever.     


She untied the bow on it first and he felt as though she was untying it with painful slowness, like she was trying to torture him, which, deep down, he knew she wasn’t.  Then, she took the paper off and cracked open the lid on it. 

  
She gasped softly and he immediately thought that she thought it was so ugly that she didn’t even want to look at it.  She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. “John, this is  beautiful,”  she said, her voice hushed. “Come put it on me.”   


He was of the couch within seconds, because how on Earth was he supposed to refuse her anything?  She turned around and he put the necklace on her, making sure the clasp fixed perfectly.  Rose let her hair go and it brushed his hands as he pulled away. She turned back around to face him, and he realized that the necklace brushed against her collarbones just as he thought it would, and she looked completely lovely in it. 

“How did you find this?” She asked. 

  
“Well, I knew I wanted to get you something nice, but I didn’t know  what  to get you, so I figured you’d never had a super nice necklace, and that’s not a dig at your mum! I know- oh, you know, merry Christmas.”   


He made to stand again, as he had properly made a fool out of himself, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged her back, feeling quite satisfied with all the attention that she was showing him.

  
“Thank you,” she whispered, right,  right  into his ear.  “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever gotten.”   


“You deserve it Rose.”

She pulled back and looked at him curiously, but Mickey was already announcing the next activity that they were going to be doing at the party.  

It was the first day after break that John saw Rose again at the university that they attended together.  She was wearing the necklace, peeking out from her big, puffy coat.  She grinned at him when she saw him and tucked her arm through his so that they could walk together. 

“Hi,” she said, “How was your New Year’s?”

“I spent it with my family,” he jostled her a little in teasing.  “You?”

“With my mum, as usual,” she said, tilting her head a little so that she could look at him easier.  

He looked down at her, wondering if what he wanted to say was worth saying at all.  He licked his lips and looked away from her and then looked at her again.  “Maybe we should’ve spent it together,” he said softly, afraid of voicing that particular opinion.

She smiled softly, a more gentle smile than he had ever seen on her before.  “Yeah, maybe we should have,” she said. 

  
“Next time?”   
“Are you saying that I have to wait until New Year’s next year to see you again?”   


He blinked. “Oh.  No, I’m not saying that at all,” he said, laughing a little.  “But, maybe, oh, bollocks, I don’t know.”

  
“John?”   
“Yeah?”   


“Do you fancy me?”

  
He felt his blood run cold. She knew. Of  course  she knew, he had given her that absolutely lovely necklace and rambled on about how he wanted her to have something nice.  So really, there was no denying it now, no matter what.    


“Yes,” he said softly.  

She touched the necklace with her free hand.  “I had a feeling,” She said, “But I never thought you would.  You’re so brilliant, you know, and you could have any bloody girl in this school.”

“I don’t want any of them,” he said, turning to her so fast she almost stumbled.  “I never have.  I bought you that necklace because I fancied you. I wouldn’t have bought it for anyone else.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“So if I were to ask you out for chips-”

“I would say yes.”

Rose smiled and blushed, looking away from him for a moment. “And if I were to make certain that you knew it was a date-”

“I would still say yes,” he said, making her look at him again. 

Her face lit up.  “So we’re-”

“Us?” 

“Well, yes, but, how about Friday? The little chippy off campus?”

“Rose Tyler, I can not think of a better way to spend my Friday night.”

He nearly lost his mind with excitement, but they continued walking, and every once in awhile, when he looked at her, he saw the gleam of that necklace.


	13. Chapter 13

“Stop being such a Grinch and watch this Christmas movie with me.”

  
He scowled at her, literally  scowled  at her, from the entryway to the media room.  His hands were stuffed firmly in his pockets and she was certain his face would stick.     


  
“Rose, one thing I simply can  not  waste time on in a Christmas movie.”   


She raised her brows at him and regarded him with no small amount of shock. “Are you kidding?  You, who watches the Muppet Movie on a daily basis and eats more cookies than the average six year old?  How does that work?”

He shifted on his feet, as though she’d somehow struck a nerve when she was trying to tease him.  “Um, I just don’t like Christmas movies that much, is all.”

“Well get over here and learn to like them, it’s Christmas Eve,” Rose said.  

“Just because it’s Christmas Eve doesn’t mean that I need to agree with you about Christmas movies,” the Doctor protested, but it was in fact, a weak protest.

  
“So you want me to spend Christmas by myself?”   
“You’re with the TARDIS.”   


“S’not the same.”

  
He wrinkled his nose up at her. “Oh, don’t do that, don’t pout at me, don’t  pout.   I hate that face  you do.”   


She was pouting, and she was quite good at it, which didn’t really help the Doctor since he was trying to keep away from her, which he was bad at anyway.  He rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms, leaning against the doorjamb.  

“Really,” He said, “You are something else.”

“There’s all kinds of movies on and the TARDIS has some lined up already, don’t you want to watch them with me.”

“Thank you,” He said, ‘Because that was all I wanted, to watch a sappy Christmas movie that two women picked out.”

“Women tend to have the best taste, Doctor,” she reminded him, “Especially when it comes to movies.”

“Are you saying that I’m bad at picking out movies when we stay in?”

“No, but that’s usually because the TARDIS really helps you pick movies as well.  I’m not the only one that gets a bit of assistance, am I?”

He sputtered a bit, because he didn’t like for her to know that he didn’t do one hundred percent of the work when it came to their movie nights. He did value those, really, he did, but something about being tucked up with Rose on that couch on Christmas Eve, the most sentimental time of the year, made him quite nervous.  

She sighed and settled back onto the couch, her hands wrapped around her mug of hot chocolate that they’d picked up from New York when they were running low. “It’s fine, never mind.  Stupid suggestion, I guess.”

Oh, and that always did it, when she guilted him. He was helpless to resist, really.  His shoulders sagged and he lost his defensive stance before sighing dramatically, a parody of her earlier one, and toed off his shoes.  He trudged over to her and sat down next to her, not too close, never too close, but close enough that she was certain that he had made up his mind about all this. 

She grinned at him. “I knew you’d come around.”

“Oh, I’m sure you did.”

“We’ll have the TARDIS pick one out, yeah?  Just to prove that she’ll pick something we’ll both like.”

A movie started playing, a cheesy American one that was called Comfort and Joy.  It was about a single woman who got into a car accident and suddenly had a husband and kids when she woke up.  

"Rose, this is ridiculous, completely illogical?"

Rose turned towards him and furrowed her brows. "Are you trying to apply logic to something?   _You,_ trying to apply _logic?"_ She let out a loud laugh and winked at him. "Oh, Doctor, nice try there."

"I'm serious!"

"The point is that she's seeing something that she really wants through this dream," Rose said seriously, "She's unconscious, but she wants a happy life, a husband and children." She looked at the screen and didn't say anything else about it.

The Doctor watched her carefully, feeling something settle into the pit of his stomach. "Is that what you want?" He asked softly.

She looked at him and squinted. "I used to think so," she said softly, "But I don't think I do anymore."

"Why not?"

She lifted a shoulder. "I'm busy."

He gave a mirthless laugh. "Doing what?" 

"Hanging out with you," she said, "Travelling the stars.  Seeing things that people from my time and people my age could only _dream_ of."

"You don't think you'll get bored of it."

"No.  God, where's all this coming from, are you alright?"

He nodded numbly. "I guess I just forget that you're a human woman with needs."

"What, you think I'm going to leave because I get a little-" she waggled her eyebrows, "Lonely?"

He blushed at the mere suggestion and looked away from her, looking a little surprised that she had had the guts to bring it up. "I didn't think... Of course... I mean, I didn't mean to bring that up, that's not my business, I'll just go now."

He started to get up but Rose pulled him back down by his sleeve.  "No, don't go.  Guess you should know after all."

"What?" he whispered gently, daring to scoot closer to her. 

"I haven't... Told anyone I was _lonely_ since before I met you."

"W-why?"

She released his sleeve and scooted away from him, blushing.  It clicked for him, then, what she meant, what she was trying to tell him.  He lunged over her, pinning her to the couch. She stared at him, her eyes wide and nervous.

"Rose," he said slowly, "Are you trying to say that you haven't danced with anyone since we met? Because of me?"

"Yes," her reply was almost a whisper.

And then soon enough they were snogging quite enthusiastically and Rose was trying to figure out quite what happened.  He pulled away and they stared at each other in shock, three hearts pounding wildly in the darkness. 

He kissed her again, slower, so they could both enjoy it, and Rose cupped his cheeks, her fingers slipping into his hair.  He held her close, unable to process the fact that he was really allowing this to happen, and _Rose_ was allowing it to happen.  She stroked her hands through his hair over and over, soothing him as their kisses grew deeper and wetter and had less finesse. 

"Oh, Rose," he said softly, "I don't know what I would do if you left."

"Good thing I'm not leaving then, isn't it?" She replied on a shy whisper.

In response, he hauled her off the couch and away, wrapped around him, leaving Jane Berry of Comfort and Joy to find her family as the Doctor found his.


	14. Chapter 14

He was meeting the family.  And for a man who was dating the absolute love of his life, that was the most terrifying thing he could think of.  He was wearing his best suit, trying to give off the air of ‘looks nice’ without ‘trying too hard’.  Rose, however, really didn’t see the point, seeing as they were going to an Estate, which wasn’t exactly top bar.

  
“It’s the principle of the thing,” he said, gesturing and then running a nervous hand through his hair.  “I want them to think I’m good enough for you.”   


  
She smiled up at him, liking this new nervousness.  She knew it shouldn’t, but it made her feel  sort of power that she didn’t understand.  “It’s Christmas, that’s all, just a little holiday, so there’s no reason to be nervous.  Everyone’s more relaxed then.  And besides, it’s not like you have to meet a giant family.  Just me and mum and Bev. Hardly a lot.”   


  
John had to acknowledge that she was right. She didn’t have a lot of family, since her dad died, and of course, her mother hadn’t been willing to ask for any sort of help, so no one tried after a while.  He knew all sorts of things about Rose’s childhood, but he wished he knew more.  There were things she didn’t want to talk about, just how he never talked about his parents’ death.  There are just things people don’t talk about, he supposed.    


  
“So, go on,” she said after a comfortable silence, “Knock.”   


  
He turned to the door of the Tyler flat, feeling quite daunted.  He raised his fist, his hand almost trembling around the grouping of presents that he was holding.  He knocked, slowly and firmly, hoping it didn’t make him sound like the police, but someone friendly.     


  
“Was that alright?  Was that a hard knock? I’m sorry, oh, now she’s going to think I’m a brute.”   


  
She laughed. “You’re bonkers.”   


  
“Well, at least you like it.”   


  
She nudged his shoulder with hers.  “You’re lucky I do.”   


  
He was about to reply with some remark with incredible wit, but the door opened, a breeze hitting him and making his breath catch in his throat with nerves and surprise.  Jackie Tyler stood before him in a gaudy Christmas jumper, her hair pulled up in a high ponytail.  “Oh! You’re here! Come in, come in,” she said, waving Rose and John along.     


  
Rose perched up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek for luck.  “You’ll be fine, I’m sure they’ll love you.”   


  
He tried to look at her with a genuine smile, but it came out more as a grimace, making her laugh again.  Oh, well, as long as he could make her laugh, that would be alright, wouldn’t it?  If he had had a free hand he would’ve taken hers for comfort.  But, unfortunately, he was loaded down with gifts.  Or was that good?  Okay, that might be a good thing, people liked presents, especially women.    


  
After several moments, he realized his mind was stalling him, and he followed Rose into the flat, maneuvering expertly to shut the door behind him. He grinned at her, a real smile this time, and she took half the gifts from him.   


  
“Mum, we’re gonna go ahead and put the gifts under the tree, okay?” Rose called, jerking her head for John to follow her into the living room.  He followed her into the room, setting the presents still in his arms under the tree that was already starting to look a little crowded.  Rose frowned at it.   


  
“What’s wrong?” John asked, hoping he hadn’t  already  done something wrong, he’d just gotten here.    


  
She shook her head. “How did she afford all these gifts?” She whispered, “I know her boyfriend didn’t buy these things for her.”  She got down onto her knees and looked under the tree, pulling out the first package she saw.  “It’s for me,” she whispered.    


  
John sat next to her, laying an arm around her shoulders. “She made sure that you would have something for Christmas, Rose, is that so bad?”   


  
“I just wish I could help her more,” Rose admitted quietly.     


  
“You do everything you can,” John said, almost fiercely.  Why did she never think she was good enough when she was absolutely  perfect?   


  
She looked at him and smiled a little, her eyes brimming with emotion.  “Yeah.  I guess you’re right,” she said softly.    


  
He pressed a kiss to her temple and that seemed to encourage her to put the present back down and get to her feet. She brushed off her jeans even though there wasn’t anything on them, and John reached down to take her hand, because he could now, and she led him into the kitchen where her mum and Bev were residing.   


  
“Oh, sweetheart, Happy Christmas!” Jackie scooped her daughter up into a hug, making her let go of John’s hand.  “I’m so glad you got here alright.”   


  
Rose disentangled herself from her mother’s embrace and hugged Bev before turning to the counter.  “Well, what do the two of you need help with?”   


  
“You’re guests today,” Jackie reminded her.  “And this is John?”   


  
John nodded and stuck his hand out for a handshake.  “Yes, this is John.  Hello, Ms. Tyler.”   


  
Instead of taking his hand, Jackie swept him up in a mother bear hug, making the breath whoosh out of him uncomfortably. He patted her back, wondering what he was supposed to do. His mother, when she was alive, was not prone to aggressive affection.     


  
But somehow, he managed to sit down at the dinner table, thankfully next to Rose, her hand comfortingly on his knee under the table.  She kept smiling at him, like nothing in the world was making her happier than being in this moment with him.   


  
“And you’ll come back tomorrow for Christmas morning?” Jackie asked, pouring herself another glass of wine.   


  
He blinked. He had (stupidly, really) assumed that they were going to open their gifts tonight, as they were all together.  It hadn’t even occurred to him that there was a whole Christmas celebration that he was going to miss if he didn’t come over tomorrow.   


  
“Well, I- I mean, I didn’t think I was- invited, to your Christmas.” He said timidly, “You’ve opened your home to me already, and I’m not… Family.”   


  
Rose sent him a shocked look but it was Bev that spoke.   


  
“Of course you’re family!” She said, “If our Rose has been hanging around you this much, there must be a reason for it.  And I’ll be damned if we don’t let Rose’s fella spend Christmas with us. I don’t have any family, the Tylers open their house to me for every holiday or small event. Why would you be any different?”   


  
That struck John down to his core and Rose squeezed his knee, smiling timidly up at him, silently pleading for him to say yes, to spend a holiday with her.  Even if he didn’t, John knew that she would come right up to him after dinner with her family and be with him for awhile.,   


  
But that wasn’t the same, was it?  Not the same as having a family, having people around him that could make him happy. He didn’t want Rose to worry all day about him, how he was doing or how he was spending the day.  Because she  would  worry, she worried about him all the time, and he couldn’t stop her from doing so.     


  
‘Okay,’ he said, a little shyly. “I could come if that’s.. What you all wanted.”   


  
Rose smiled. “Of course,” she whispered.   


  
“Oh, you know, there would not be another time for you to open your gifts if you didn’t come tomorrow,” Jackie piped up.   


  
He felt a bit surprised at that. He had a feeling that he was going to watch Rose open her presents and marvel at the happy expression on her face and the sparkle in her eyes.  That wasn’t really a problem. He actually liked the idea of it quite a lot.  But… “Wait,” he said, “You got me gifts?”   


  
“You got us gifts.” Jackie pointed out, a more motherly tone entering her voice as she realized that he hadn’t been expecting to get anything.   


  
“Well, that’s because I’m your guest,” he argued, “Why would I not bring something?”   


  
“Why would we not buy something for the man that Rose is in love with?”   


  
Rose looked down, a little shy.  They hadn’t spoken the words to each other, not yet. John’s gaze locked on her, on the slight blush of her cheek that he could pick out. She was embarrassed, and her grip on his leg had loosened, but she wasn’t going anywhere, and if that was any sort of bad analogy, it meant that she was never going to leave him.   


  
“Well then,” he said gently, trying to get her to look at him. “How could I say no, then?”   


  
At that, she looked up at him and smiled, her eyes lighting up a whole room.  Oh, he had never loved anyone like he loved Rose Tyler.   


  
They left the flat too late. Or they tried to leave the flat. It was  snowing!   And Rose wasn’t going to be able to move their car very far.   


  
“Oh, you might as well stay here,” Jackie said, “Don’t want you in an accident. You can both take Rose’s old room.”   


  
“Both?” John couldn’t stop himself from exclaiming, a bit confused.   


  
Bev smiled wryly at them. “We know what you young people get up to.  Me?  I’m lucky, I live two doors down. See you all tomorrow.’   


  
“Happy Christmas, Bev,” Rose said, hugging her mum’s friend. And then there were hugs all around, really, because everyone gives at least eight more hugs a day when it’s a holiday.  Bev disappeared, buried in her cheap fur coat.  Jackie begged off tired and kissed both John and Rose on the cheek before going off to her room.   


  
“Your mum is very nice,” John said primly, and Rose threw her arms around his neck, holding him tight.    


  
“I do, you know, love you,” she said, the words mumbled into his neck, as she was too nervous to look him in the eye and deliver them properly.   


  
He pulled back and looked down into her face, marveling at how an expression could be so lovely.  He leaned down and kissed her, portraying every ounce of love he felt for her into that kiss, as deeply as he could.  After several heart stopping moments, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.   


  
“I love you too,” he whispered.   


She smiled again, her fingers curling into his hair. It looked like her Christmas wishes were all coming true.


	15. Stockings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor is a dork. Confusion ensues

“We should get stockings.”

  
“For what?”   


  
Rose furrowed her brows at the Doctor as if he was completely daft. “You’re kidding me, right?  Like, you’re really kidding me.”   


  
He shook his head, “No, I’m not kidding you.  What do  we  need stockings for?”   
“For decorating for Christmas!” She exclaimed. “Don’t you- you know what, don’t answer that, you are so not festive.”   
“I can be plenty festive.”   


  
“Mm.  Well, then, we’ll get stockings.”   


  
The Doctor huffed out a sigh but he wouldn’t look at her and she wasn’t quite sure why. “Fine. I’ll get you some bloody stockings for Christmas.”   


  
“You gonna complain the whole time.”   


  
“You know what? You don’t get to come with me.  You’ll take too long and then we won’t even be back in time for Christmas.”   


  
She crossed her arms and leaned back against the console, making a face at him.  “I think, Doctor, that you might be a bit mental.”   


  
“Oh, you’re just now realizing it.”   


  
“Well, no.  Just felt like telling you is all,” she grinned at him, “You know, I think the best thing for you to be doing would be for me to go  with  you to get the stockings.”   


He blushed deeply, though she wasn’t really sure why, as it pretty much never made sense for the Doctor to blush.  She watched him carefully, a curious expression on her face. 

“No, I think I’ll just go get them.  What- You know, I can figure it out myself, actually,” he grinned tightly at her, “No worries.”

“Um. Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“Yes! It is! I’ve decided.  Yep. By myself. I’ll go… Tonight, while you’re…. Sleeping, and such.”

“Well, you should-”

“No! No, I won’t waste your daytime hours, no sir.  I’ll be-” He ran a nervous hand through his hair and bolted from the console room. 

She was very confused to say the least. His reaction was a bit ridiculous and he was being a bit weird about it.  He wasn’t usually weird- wait.  Yes he was.  But this was a different type of weird, something she had never seen before.  

Rose shook her head, playing it off, trying not to think too hard about it.  She knew that he did things that were unexplainable and sort of stupid, but that was just who the Doctor was really.  So she went back to her bedroom and tried not to think too hard about it. 

The Doctor made himself scarce that night, like he was embarrassed or something.  It was something she wasn’t really used to from him.  So she sat on her bed and painted her toenails, wondering if she had gone too far. Then again, there was nothing too far about stockings for Christmas.  She just wanted to decorate the library, that wasn’t so bad, was it? There was nothing too much about that.  

She frowned at her red toenails and wiggled them a little.  She was listening for the Doctor to come back, but she didn’t think he would, or at the very least, he wasn’t about to come back to her room.  He hadn’t done that since he had been in his ninth body and had been springing into her room to wake her up.  She found that she missed that. 

She stayed up and kept listening, because she was curious to see what he was up to.  At around midnight she heard him creeping along the corridors.  He paced for a moment and as she heard him walk away from her room she cracked the door open and looked at the back of his head.  She saw him tuck his wallet into the pocket of his trousers and keep going.  Rose leaned against the doorway and watched him continue on. So he was serious about giving in to her wishes of getting her stockings to hang up for Christmas.

It seemed a little childish to her, even in her own mind.  Christmas stockings were for people who still believed in Santa, still wrote letters to him. But she had never had that.  They’d been poor, her and her mum.  She’d never had a stocking that her friends had.  They hung up tube socks and she knew her mother wanted better for her, but they didn’t have it. 

  
Maybe it was selfish to ask the Doctor for this. She should pay him back somehow.  Chewing her lip, she went back into her bedroom and shut the door.  She didn’t have a lot of money on her, not at the moment, anyway, and she  wanted  to be able to give him something back. It wasn’t even about obligations, not really.    


She found fifty pounds in her sock drawer and shrugged. That would probably be enough to cover a couple of Christmas stockings, even if he bought them somewhere high end. She doubted he would go off Earth for this.  

She also wondered why he hadn’t wanted her with him, though, but shoved that thought aside and tried to go to bed.  She would see him in the morning, after all., 

The next morning, she was awakened by the sound of some timid and gentle knocking on the door.  She sat up in bed, staring blearily at her door, and blinked.  It took her a moment to realize that the Doctor had come to her room. “Come in,” she said hoarsely.

The Doctor entered the room, holding a cloth shopping bag and looking quite nervous.  He stood in the doorway until she beckoned him closer, and then he shuffled closer to her, standing at the foot of the bed. 

“What’s that?” She asked, grinning up at him and shifting so she was on her knees, sitting back on her heels. “For me?”

  
He scoffed, “Of course for you.”   
“I can pay you back if you want,” she said, “I know I never really pay you back for all the wonderful things you do for me, and I guess now I want to change that, a little, at least.”   


An emotion flickered over his face that she couldn’t place and then he grinned at her. “Please, I’ve got unlimited credit anywhere I go.  I couldn’t have asked for a better companion to sent me shopping.”

She smiled a little in spite of herself and sat back so she was cross legged on her bed and patted the spot next to her. He took a seat, bringing one knee up on the bed so that he could face her properly.

“Show me what you’ve got, then,” she said, on some level understanding why he didn’t want her to pay him back.  He brought the bag up.

“I have to be honest with you,” he said, a little fidgety. “I wasn’t sure what you meant.”

She furrowed her brows, trying to see where any sort of confusion would have factored in. “What-”

“Just-” he waved his hand a little dismissively and rummaged around in the bag, which was far fuller than she had previously thought it. He pulled out a green stocking, like the one she had asked for, and a pink one that was quite similar.   He laid them out before her and she felt as though she could have wept. 

They were both decorated with little lights that were lighting up, twinkling, really, and had silver trim. The pink one had a candy cane field on it as a pattern, and the green one had a a little house with smoke coming out of the chimney. It looked very Harry Potter and they were the most beautiful stockings she had ever seen. And then she noticed that on the green one was written “Doctor” in silver glitter, and “Rose” across the pink one.  

She lifted her hand to her mouth and looked at the Doctor, who was staring at her nervously. 

“Oh, Doctor, they’re beautiful,” She gushed, throwing her arms around his neck.  He shuffled towards her a little bit so that he could hold her closer but was also careful not to crush the stockings under his leg.  

“Okay, so that’s what you meant,” he mumbled.

She pulled back, more intrigued than confused. “What did you think I meant, Doctor?”

He swallowed, hard, and reached back into the bag.  He handed her a pile of folded stockings.  And not Christmas stockings. 

They were beautiful too, some grey, some black, with trip at the tops where a garter belt would attach.  Some had patterns on the legs.  She realized that he had been very specific in picking them out. 

She wanted to blush but she couldn’t quite manage it.  She looked up at him. “These are gorgeous.”

“They’re Mananeuvian,” he said in a rush, “So they won’t get any runs in them.  You could literally wear them forever.”

“You bought me racy stockings?”

“Um. Yes. I thought that might have been what you meant, and then after I purchased them I realized that that was probably… No… Definitely not what you meant.  But I’d already purchased them, see, and they were really nice.”

  
“Still, they’re lovely, would be a shame for them to go to waste,” she said airily, rubbing a pair of grey stockings with lace tops across her fingers.    
He swallowed again, and she wondered just how much saliva a Time Lord produced to warrant that much swallowing.  “So… What do you mean?”   


“I mean… Do you want to see them?”

His mouth hung open in shock. “You would-”

She smiled at him and reached out and cupped his cheek, hoping that that would tell him all he needed to know. 

It seemed to do the trick, because he moved the Christmas stockings back into the bag, put the bag carefully on the floor, and then leaned forward and snogged her. 

Although she was caught off guard, Rose let herself respond fully, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him as close as she possibly could.  His hands splayed across her back and he pulled her tighter against him. 

Once she had run out of air, he pulled away and kissed down her neck, letting her catch her breath. 

  
“Doctor?”   
“Yeah?” he breathed against her collarbone.   


“You know the point is not to buy a Christmas present for yourself, right?”

He looked up and dragged her against him, his eyes warm and watching her with so much blatant love and affection that she thought she might explode, even with all the teasing she had tried to do.

He smiled and cupped her cheek. “Something tells me I got a gift for the both of us.”


	16. Chapter 16

"No, no, it's... It's my ex's wedding."  
Her mate John looked up at her from his magazine. "Jimmy Stone? From high school?"

She nodded. Of course he knew who she was talking about, they'd been friends forever, after all, wouldn't make sense for hint to be clueless about it. He just seemed to be clarifying which ex.

"Yeah."

He furrowed his brows at her. "Hang on. You haven't spoken to him since he trotted across Europe with that... Girl. So why-?"

"I think he wants to make me jealous." Rose admitted, chewing her bottom lip. "He never wanted me to be happy, not when it wasn't with him. And I'm alone and all... That's it, I guess. I can't go."

John sputtered and shook his head. "No. You, Rose Tyler, are going to that wedding. You know it's gonna end in divorce in three hears or less. You know Jimmy. So I say you make him jealous."

"But... I don't want him back."

"I never said you did," John said, "but a little jealousy never hurt anyone, did it?"

Rose sighed softly and sat down across from him at the table, tossing the wedding invitation at him. "So what do you suggest I do then?"

"Take me with you."

She blinked at him, truly unable to think of anything else to say to him. "Huh?"

He nodded furiously at her, like she was white daft indeed. "Yeah.  Take me with you. As your plus one. To the wedding."

Rose allows herself to look at John. He would do well to make another man jealous. He was gorgeous and lean and smiled at a girl to make her melt and he didn't even know it. She blew out her cheeks. It wouldn't do now to think of her ridiculous crush on him.

"We're not a couple, John."

"We're bloody good actors though," He said, and grinned at her, and she positively melted.

She didn't want to go with him. Not because she didn't _want_ to go with him, but because if she did things might get a little too real and she didn't want to scare him off. She loved him.  And not in the way that one friend loves another friend.  But, on the other hand, it might be a good way to break the ice between them, so to speak, to get closer, to do all the things she wanted to do with him.  

"Okay," she agreed, before she could really think properly about it, or let her logical side take over even a little bit. "Yeah, okay, we'll go together, it's next week." 

He picked up the invitation and grinned.  "Haven't been to a proper wedding in ages," he said, "It'll be fun."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Alright."

***

When the day arrived, they agreed that that fake couple angle would be the best, because people would most likely believe it, or at the very least, no one would question it.  John drove them to London from where they were living at Uni, about an hour drive. Rose had put her dress on already and John was in his tux.  He had told her she looked beautiful and looked her over quite firmly, and she thought to herself that he was simply getting into character, nothing more. 

He had his jacket draped over the back seat, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms.  She had trouble not staring at them or running her fingers along the brown hair that were there. 

He helped her out of the car and pulled her arm through his, holding her tight.  He smiled at her and they walked into the church, quite cuddled up together already. 

"You know, Rose, it _is_ a little odd that Jimmy would get married in a church.  I had a feeling God would strike him down if he ever set foot in one."

Rose covered her mouth to keep from laughing and laid her head on his shoulder quickly before they found their seats.  Instead of letting her go when they sat down, he laid his hand on her knee, his thumb stroking over the fabric of her blue dress.  He flipped through the little program that they had been given. 

"You know, Rose, this is... Well done?  We're not in a trailer park."

"Stop it, John!" She tried to scold him, but that was difficult to do while she was laughing. 

"Oh, no, I can't now," he moved his hand from her knee to wrap around her shoulders, showing the program to her.  "A ten year old didn't write this program."

There were several minutes of lull before the service and Jimmy came out and stood at the altar.  He looked stoic when he saw Rose, and John's arm around her.  She wondered if John had seen it and realized he must have because he pressed a kiss to her temple and settled back as though they were just out to watch a movie or something.  

Jimmy headed over to them, his hands behind his back. Rose wasn't surprised to find that she felt no attraction to him at all.  His hair was slicked and his face still held the untrustworthy air that it always had. 

He stood in the row in front of them, where only a few people were, and smiled at them. "Hello, Rose.  Um.  John, right?"

John reached up and shook Jimmy's hand. "Right-o, that's me," he said, smiling. 

Jimmy smiled tightly. "I had a feeling there was something going on between you guys, even when we were together."

Rose screwed up her face in confusion.  He was really one to talk about all that, wasn't he?  She did her best to keep out a scowl. 

"Well, Jimmy, I don't think there's any room for pointing fingers here," his thumb stroked over Rose's shoulder.  "No reason to get like this before your wedding."

"You're right," he said, pretending like he wasn't bothered.  He was stiff and nodded to the both. "Thank you both for coming.  It means a lot to me.  And Jess. The both of us."

Rose smiled, "Of course. Why wouldn't it?"

Jimmy sniffed and looked at her again, a look probably too lingering for his wedding day, and _far_ too lingering considering that she was with someone at his wedding. 

Once he moved away, Rose breathed out a sigh and leaned down in her chair, her head falling against his shoulder.  "You know, I forgot how much I hated him. Almost. I _almost_ forgot how much I hated him."

John's voice was so no longer teasing, but hard, when he spoke. "I don't like the way that he looked at you," He said simply, crossing one arm over his body, as though he wanted to cross his arms but didn't want to relinquish touching her.

Rose looked up at his face.  "It's okay," she said softly, "Not like it's your fault that some guy is a pig."

He kissed her temple and then her cheek, and she realized that Jimmy was looking.  "It can still bother me," he said softly, and sat back in his seat just as Rose looked at him.  Before she could lose her nerve, she sat up straight and kissed him on the cheek right back, not even looking to see if Jimmy was watching or not. 

"Thanks," she said softly. 

"You deserve to be treated like a lady, Rose," he said, "I'm not going to let anyone treat you wrong."

The wedding procession began, and although Rose was zoned out for much of the ceremony, she had to admit it was quite lovely but she felt bad for 'Jess', the woman that Jimmy was marrying. She seemed to be bursting with happiness, like Rose had been when she had first started dating Jimmy.  He seemed so open, like a good man, but of course, something had come up, over and over again, something had come up.

When the new bride and groom left the church, John dragged her up to her feet. "Well, let's go!" He said, "Off to the reception, yeah?"

She smiled and took his hand, smiling at him.  "Yeah."

"Great, cause I am _starving,"_ He said, "don't know what I would've said if you hadn't wanted to come."

"We would've gone to eat somewhere else," she said, because it was simply true, and he smiled at her. 

"I suppose we would have, yes.  But this way, we don't have to pay for it.  Isn't that nice?"

"Tightwad."

"Well, maybe, yes," he agreed.  

Rose almost wished that she had suggested they go out to eat somewhere else, because she had forgotten about dancing. And she had forgotten how klutzy she could be in a long dress, and she was wearing heels, and this was a _horrible_ idea.  But after they ate and the first dance with the couple began, John flashed her a giant smile. 

"Now, all other couples can join the Stones in their happiness."

Rose wanted to kill the DJ.

John turned to Rose, his eyes looking softer than she had seen them all night.  "Do you want to dance?"

She wanted to be honest with him.  So she nodded.  "Yeah, I do."

He grinned at her and got to his feet, looking down at her.  He held out his hand to her, and she took it, feeling uncharacteristically bashful in the face of his unguarded attention.  He led her to the dance floor and swept her into his arms with a grace that she hadn't known that he had possessed.  

His hand was settled on her low back, and she _loved_ his hand there.  His other hand held hers, bringing her close.  He knew the song, because he knew every song, and he sang lightly into her ear as they swayed together. She let her eyes flutter shut and laid her head onto his chest.  His breath hitched for a moment but he kept singing to her, flexing his fingers against her back.  

After only two minutes of dancing with him, she completely forgot all about Jimmy Stone and his new wife. John Smith was the only man that existed, at least for right now. They weren't even dancing, really, just swaying together to the music.  Eventually she unwrapped her hand from his and wrapped it around his neck, linking her fingers together behind his head.  

He seemed hesitant, but pretty soon his other hand was on her opposite his other hand, both his hands gripping her tight.  He toned his singing down to humming and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"John," she whispered into his coat. 

"Rose, I have a feeling we're on the edge of something vastly important," he said lowly, his voice a mere rumble in her ear. 

"Tell me more," she said.  Her heart was pounding in her chest, and he was making her feel so bold and _alive._ She leaned up and nipped his neck, making his fingers curl into her back. 

He swallowed hard.  "I can't... You... I may have realized that I feel some sort of- I know we're friends, but I wanted you to be happy but I wanted you to be happy with _me_ and I-"

"John."

"Um, yeah."

"Are you saying that you wanted to come with me because you wanted me to be happy with you?" She asked softly, bringing her head back to look at him properly.  "John, please, you have to answer me," she pleaded, as he was looking over her head.  

He swallowed, and she watched his Adam's apple bob, hoping that he would _speak,_ and they still hadn't stopped moving and it was almost making her sick.

Instead of saying anything at all, he leaned down and kissed her.  It was gentle, soft, completely appropriate for the public eye.  And when he pulled back, he pushed his forehead against hers, reminding her of a cat that head-butts its owner for attention.  She ran her hand through the back of his hair.  

"John, I care for you very much."

"But you don't feel the same," he said softly, and started to step back, putting words harshly into her mouth.  She pulled him back roughly, grinning at him. 

"John, of course I feel the same."  She cupped his cheek. "I want to go home."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I want to take you home."

"Then do it."

He kissed her again and they ran from the building, giggling, without saying goodbye to the bride and groom.


	17. Oh, Christmas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another TentooxRose Christmas moment

"Christmas is ruined and it's all my fault!"

"Doctor, you're being a little dramatic, don't you think?"

"No!  We were supposed to get a tree.  I was supposed to-" he put his head in his hands.  "Your mother is going to kill me."

She knelt before him and pried his hands away from his face.  He'd sat down about twenty minutes ago, in utter despair, and she had been at a loss to help him.  So she'd stared at him until he'd spoken, and now was her chance.  

She sat between his knees and looked at him in the face, right there where he'd been crying and she wasn't sure why. "Doctor, it's just a Christmas tree," she whispered, cupping his cheeks. "Just because we lost the Christmas tree doesn't mean-"

"Rose-" he choked on the word, "I need... I needed to make this perfect."

"But... Doctor... Why?" She frowned and forced him to look at her. "You being here is perfect, don't you think?"  She leaned forward and kissed him, and he responded for a few moments before pulling away. 

"That's just it, Rose, we lost a Christmas tree. We paid money for it, had it on the roof of our car and _lost it."_

"We can go get another one."

"No, but it won't be the same, we'll have to- you'll have to pay more money, and-"

She rolled her eyes and pushed him back on the couch and threw herself onto his lap, straddling his legs.  He looked up at her in shock.  She ran her hands through his hair and pressed kisses to his forehead and cheeks.  "Money is not an issue for my dear, sweet mother and father," she said, looking down at his face again.  She swept her thumbs under his eyes, clearing the tears from his cheeks.  "Why are you _crying?"_

"It's our first Christmas."

"No it's not."

His hands came up to grip her waist.  "It _is._ It's our first Christmas and I can't even get the tree right." She was quite surprised when his head tipped forwards and he buried his face in her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight, pressing her cheek into his head. 

"Doctor, the decorations aren't what makes a Christmas perfect.  It's the people. I spent three Christmases without you, don't you see?  So the fact that you're _here, with me,_ that's enough.  That's all that I wanted, ever.  You with me."

He pulled back and searched her eyes. "I love you," he whispered, _"_ I _want_ things to be perfect for you, especially during the holidays.  I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said softly, letting every piece of love that she felt for him fall practically into his lap. Or they would have if she wasn't already in it.  She ran her hands through his hair a couple of times and then touched his cheekbones.  "So the fact that we lost the tree is actually rather funny.  And you would've laughed too, once upon a time."

"I would've laughed if your mother wasn't expecting it from us."

"She'll get over it.  We'll get a new one."  She kissed him again, and this time he responded much more thoroughly, one hand slipping under her shirt and the other wrapping around her waist.  He held her close against him and seemed to be quite unwilling to let her go.  She broke away after several minutes and kissed down his neck, opening the collar of his shirt to make her way down to his chest. 

"Are you trying to make me feel better?"

"Well, really," She said in between kisses, "I'm really doing it to make me feet better."  She kissed her way back up to his mouth and kissed him deeply, shifting in his lap, trying to get as close to him as possible. His fingers curled into her skin of her upper back, nails scratching.  She ripped open the oxford he was wearing and the Doctor gasped. 

"You're... Are you... Rose?"

She smiled at him.  "I 'm sorry you ever thought that I didn't love you," she said, "I'm sorry I let you doubt yourself.  But this Christmas is going to be perfect whether or not we have a tree.  I love that we get to have Christmas together.  I'm glad that I have you."

"Do you mean that?" he asked softly, and his eyes looked vulnerable.  She kissed him again, sweetly, lovingly, and his hands moved to lightly hold her back, just below her shoulder blades.  She hugged him close then, pressing her cheek to his.  

"I mean it.  I love you so much."

 He made an odd little happy humming noise in the back of his throat. It was a noise that he made sometimes that was very familiar and it made her so happy to hear it again.  He wrapped his arms tighter around her and they sat there together on the couch for what felt like forever. 

"Aren't you glad that we have this whole wing to ourselves?" She whispered. 

"I'm surprised that we have a whole wing to ourselves," he replied.  "I don't think I realized how massive the house is."

"It's called a mansion for a reason."

"Yeah."

She pulled back and looked at him again, searching his gaze.  "Are you sure that you're feeling better?"

"You could always make me feel better," he replied, his voice hushed, "This... The way we are now, that doesn't make it any different.  But I love you more now than I ever did.  And I think it's that whole being human thing," he grinned at her, "Being made into a human has made he whole."

"How?" she asked. 

"Because I can see you through the eyes of a man who is allowed to love you, no rules or strings attached." he stroked her hair back from her face.  "And I _will_ love you forever."

"Even if we can't get a Christmas tree?"

He grimaced. "We were having a moment," he whined, "You had to bring that up again?"

She giggled and kissed his forehead. "Let's go get another one before mum gets home, yeah?"

"Okay, yeah," he agreed, and helped her off his lap before standing and taking her hand. "Not a bad life?" He said softly, as they made their way back down to the car.

She looked at him, her eyes a little wet, and whispered back, "Better with two."


	18. New Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jack is still with the Doctor and Rose after the regeneration

Rose leaned against the railing of the balcony where they were standing and watched as the fireworks had already begun.  Red, blue, green, red, silver, and gold shot across the sky, all matching up in a kaleidoscope of color that was actually very alien. She furrowed her brows and turned to Jack.  "Bit early for that, yeah?  Not even midnight yet."

"Well, no performances, no attractions, all they've got is the fireworks," Jack replied.  "This isn't New York City.  Remind me to ask the Doctor to take us there next."  As though saying that had reminded him of something.  He whipped his head around, looking for someone.  "Where's your Doctor, anyway?"

"My Doctor?" Rose felt her cheeks heat up, unable to make eye contact with Jack, even though she could feel Jack's eyes boring into her.  She rolled her eyes, trying to play it off.   "Please, Jack, he's not mine."

"He could be, if you asked him," Jack pointed out casually, looking straight forward.  He leaned farther on the railing so she could easily see his face without turning, since she wasn't turning to look at him at all.

Rose turned her head to look at Jack, startling even him.  He raised his eyebrows at her and watched as she struggled to say what she wanted to say.  "Wh-why would you say that?  There's no- I mean, I'm not-"

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes now.  "Are you kidding?  He would eat out your hand, run into traffic, or crawl into bed with you and cuddle, if you asked him."

Rose turned her glance downward, her cheeks flaming bright red.  "He has."

"Which part?"  Jack asked, his eyebrows raising.

"I had a nightmare, y'know, and I sort of, asked him to stay with me," she mumbled, running her hand through her hair and trying to pretend like it wasn't that big of a deal.

Jack whooped and punched the air.  "I knew it!  I absolutely knew it!  I'm always right."  He preened

"We're not together, though," Rose corrected him hurriedly.  "He's not into that, domestics and what not.  You know that as well as I do."

"No, he's not into domestics, but anybody looking could tell that he's into _you._ He loves you," Jack's voice turned tender.

"What do you suggest I do about it?" Rose nearly snapped, turning her head back to absorb the fireworks. 

"It's New Year's Eve." Jack suggested.

"Yeah, it is." She replied blandly.

"Midnight's coming."

"Yep."

"You could kiss him."

"Are you _daft?"_ Rose's voice was near a shriek, and even on the secluded balcony she was worried someone heard her.  "He'd dump me back at the Powell Estate so fast I wouldn't even have time to say 'thanks'."

"Just do it, please," Jack sighed, "The sexual tension is killing me."  He was only half kidding.

The Doctor chose that moment to reappear on the balcony and lean against he rail next to Rose.  He bumped her shoulder with his.  "You like all this, then?"  He asked her cheerfully. "The... Fireworks, and all?"

She turned to grin at him.  "Absolutely," she replied enthusiastically.  "Thanks for bringing us."

The Doctor smiled in reply, preening a bit since he had gotten it right, taken her somewhere that she would enjoy.

"Where'd you go off to, Doc?" Jack asked casually, pretending that he didn't care in the least. 

The Doctor shrugged.  "Checking out our surroundings a bit.  Didn't want the New Year ruined for you two, checked around for threats."

"You did?"  Rose's voice sounded touched, even in the darkness.  "That's... Unlike you."

"Protecting you, aren't I?" The Doctor replied casually, lacing his fingers together over the edge of the balcony.  Rose watched his hands for a moment, and then took another second to steal a glance at Jack, who nodded firmly.

The countdown to midnight began shortly thereafter, and Rose took a shaky breath, her heart pounding against her ribs so hard she thought it might actually burst from her chest.  She thought to herself that even if he did send her home, this would be totally worth it.  To kiss him as she had wanted to for _so_ long, practically since she had met him.

6

Oh, she couldn't do it. He looked so oblivious and just like he was enjoying the fireworks. He would hate her.  She couldn't do it.

5

A nudge from Jack.  Yes, she could.

4

No

3

Yes

2

Oh, no

1

_Oh, yes_

As cheers ringing in the new year started, the Doctor and Rose turned to each other at the same time.  He reached for her waist at the same time she reached up for his lapels, so it was very, very safe to say that both of them initiated this. Neither would remember who started it when it was all said and done.

Rose brought her arms up to fully wrap them around his neck as his lips pressed to hers, and his gripped her so tight she thought she might stop breathing.  His fingers curled into the fabric of her coat and she opened her mouth over his, making him gasp, but he held her ever closer instead of pushing her away.

The kiss lasted far, far longer than a customary New Year's kiss, and even though it had been half of Jack's idea, after about thirty seconds it was getting old.  He sighed and stole a glance at them.  The Doctor was holding Rose as though he'd never see another woman again and Rose was clinging to him as though he really was going to drop her back at Powell Estate.

The way they were snogging though, Jack really doubted that was going to happen.


	19. Brand New

It was cold, and winter, as it often was right after Christmas. Rose had plenty of things to worry about besides the cold, though, namely the fact that her flat was in shambles.  She blew out a sigh and put her hands on her hips. This was going to take a lot of cleaning up that she wasn't sure that she was ready to do.

The tree needed to be taken down, as it was fake and silver and still standing in the corner.  Another thing she was too upset to be concerned with.  It was more than just the post-holiday depression that struck most people at that moment when the clock hit midnight and December 26th came crashing down.

She shook her head.  There was no reason to think that way. everything was fine. Nobody had gotten hurt, shockingly, and her mum was passed out asleep in her room. That she should be grateful for, she supposed.  She blew out her cheeks and turned around. If she headed back to the TARDIS now, she could get there early enough that she could come back home.

She was not surprised to find the Doctor in the console room, his hands braced on the console.  He looked at her when she entered and his face lit up and he grinned at her widely. "Hi," he said, his voice much softer than she would have guessed. 

"Hi," she replied, stepping forward, the door snicking shut behind her. 

"I wasn't... I wasn't expecting you," he said, stepping forward towards her but then slipping back, as though he wasn't sure if he was allowed to stand so close to her. 

She looked down at herself and then back at him, wondering if she looked as bad s she felt. It had been a hell of a day and had taken its toll on her. She was unable to think about anything but him in that moment, and what he thought of her, and  _God,_ how long had it been since either of them had spoken?

"Um... So, you're here," he said, rocking back on his heels and looking uncomfortable but still smiling.  

"Yeah," she replied, "I thought I'd come see you before I went to bed."  She rubbed her arms, feeling the slight chill of the console room. "You know."

He nodded. "I... i'm... you know that I'm the Doctor, really?" he asked, stepping forward.  "You weren't just saying that?'

Rose stepped forward as well and settled her hand in between his hearts, feeling on beat against her pinky and one against her thumb.  She smiled and looked up at him. "That's you," she said softly.  She reached up and tapped his forehead.  "This is you."

The hand that had been on his forehead dropped to her side, but the other one stayed firmly on his chest, and she noticed that his hearts sped up ever so slightly. 

"Have I ever told you, Rose Tyler, that you are absolutely brilliant?"

"I seem to remember that you said I was a 'fat lot of good'." she teased.

His face fell.  "I shouldn't have said that to you," he said, his voice gentle and so unlike the manic man that she had known over the course of yet another impossible day.  He was watching her, his eyes digging into her.

"I was just teasing you," she said, "It's alright, really."

"It's not.  I shouldn't have-" he reached out and settled his hand on her waist, trying to be insistent about it. "I shouldn't have made you feel that way.  I'm not sure what I would've done if you hadn't been there with me today."

She lifted a shoulder and smiled. "I don't think you really knew what was going to come out of your mouth until you said it," she told him quietly. "That's okay."  She saw he wasn't looking at her and she frowned. "Doctor?"

He looked at her again, looking a little helpless.  She smiled and removed her hand from his chest to cup his cheek. "I'm not angry at you."

He closed his eyes briefly, seemingly warring with himself, and then he finally whispered, "Tell me how you know.  Tell me how you know it's me. I can't do this without you, Rose."  He opened his eyes and stared at her, desperately needing her to understand what was going on with him, what this meant for them. She could feel his jaw twitching under her palm and she curled her fingers against his sideburn, sensing he needed the reassurance of that touch. 

"It's your eyes," she said finally, staring deep into them, watching the pleading look in them.  "They're the same as they used to be, Doctor, but they're just a little warmer, that's all.  Like... Like you've been going through a hard time and now... it's over."

He smiled at her, and his eyes looked suspiciously wet.  He hugged her to him, making her squeak in surprise, but she didn't resist his embrace, just wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life.  He buried his nose in her hair and gave her a tight squeeze. 

"That's exactly what it is," he said, "You met me at the most turmoil-filled part of my long life, and I... Oh, Rose, I thought I wasn't going to make it."  He pulled back and looked at her carefully, his hands still holding her waist.  "I was going to let myself rot in the TARDIS, swirling through the Vortex... But then the TARDIS sent me to London, said there was some business I needed to take care of. I didn't want to do it.  But the TARDIS showed me that there were still  _people_ that needed saving, so I marched into Henrik's and blew the place up." 

"And you found me," she said softly. 

"I found you," he replied.  "And I almost left you behind.  But I couldn't let you go," he admitted. "I hadn't even seen myself, yet, it was too soon after the war.  You were the first person that saw me."

Rose bit her lip, trying not to cry and almost managing it.  She blinked and stared up at him, not trusting her voice. He looked confused at her expression, and then blinked back at her. He reached up and cupped both her cheeks, forcing her gaze to keep steady on him.  "I don't know what I would do it you couldn't accept this. Rose, I  _need_ you."

She flung herself at him, holding him tight around the waist, dislodging his hands from her face. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her back and  _squeezed,_ holding her as close as he could.

"I don't think I need to go back to the flat," she said softly.

"You don't?" 

"No, I think I'll stay in my room."

"Ah."

They were quiet for a moment, and then the Doctor, big brain and all, caught on.

"Oh! Could I- we could- we could... Snuggle, if you like?"

She looked up at him and grinned, feeling every bit like a fluttery schoolgirl. She pressed up on her toes and kissed him full on the mouth. When she pulled back, he looked surprised, but he also leaned towards her after she separated from him. 

"Yeah."

Not thirty minutes later, he was curled up behind her in her bed, face buried in her hair, breath against her neck.  She reached behind her and threaded her fingers through his hair. 

"Happy Christmas, my Doctor."

He shifted a bit and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. "Happy Christmas."

Before she drifted off, she heard him whisper "You are the best gift of all."


	20. A Better Christmas

A night with the Tyler’s on Christmas was perhaps the most stressful thing that the Doctor had endured, and he had endured a lot of things.  After the utter calamity that was last Christmas, he’d promised her quiet ones, nice and settled in, not destroying anything or starting any trouble with aliens.  Luckily, the only alien there to start trouble with was him.

  
He’d had a hell of a time watching Rose, though. Jackie had invited all her worst friends to their Christmas party and despite the odds, Rose was absolutely thriving.  She was smiling and laughing and the Doctor couldn’t help but wonder if he was a bit useless.  Maybe he could just slip off the the TARDIS, and she wouldn’t notice, wouldn’t be mad at him.,    


  
Deep down, he knew that that wouldn’t happen. If there was one thing that Rose was good at, it was holding a grudge for him leaving her behind, in any situation, even if it was just leaving her at a club with Jack for too long.  Her excuse was always the same: “I wanted you  with  me!”   


  
And who was he to argue with logic like that?  He had always belonged right at her side, after all.   


  
Besides, even if he wanted to escape, he couldn’t, because she kept turning around and seeing if he was still there.  He always smiled and waved a little, but couldn’t think to anything else to do. He was so bored, and Jackie’s friends kept trying to proposition him and he felt like he really didn’t want to deal with that.   


  
The third time cousin Mo tried to grab at him, he scooted away and right into Rose’s side, wrapping his arm around her waist and tugging her against him.  The gesture was obvious: spoken for.  She looked up at him, mid-conversation, and smiled.   


  
“Hello,” she said cheerfully.  “Fancy that. Finally get bored of all the other attention you were getting?”   


  
The Doctor grimaced,”You could definitely say that.”   


  
The girl that Rose was talking with, who the Doctor remembered as a girl named Keisha (they’d saved her brother, after all) let out a laugh and crossed her arms, her eyes dancing.  “Nothing like grabby, desperate estate women, eh, Doctor?”   


  
He colored deeply. “Unfortunately it’s not the sort of attention I hoped to bring up tonight, Keisha,” he forced a smile so she could at least have a hope of reading his joke.   


  
She nodded solemnly and Rose beamed up at him, looking more than a little happy.  She turned to Keisha.  “He just likes people to think that he’s clever.”   


  
“What?  No, i don’t-”   


  
“Oh, you so do,” Keisha cut him off, laughing.  She looked back to Rose.  “Are the two to you staying for Christmas tomorrow?”   


  
Rose smiled, knowing that the Doctor was fully caught and had to experience Christmas with her and her mum whether he liked it or not. “We sure are!” She said.    


  
“Boxing day?”   


  
“If this one can stay in one place for long enough.”   


  
Keisha looked at the Doctor expectantly, who scratched the back of his neck with the hand that wasn’t firmly on Rose’s waist.  He looked up at the ceiling and squinted. “I-um, I think I can manage.”   


  
Rose breathed out what he seemed to think was a sigh of relief, as he could feel her ribs expanding against his fingers. He wondered what made her want to visit so much.  He certainly wouldn’t, if it wasn’t for her.  But it was already established, what the Doctor would do to keep Rose Tyler happy.   


  
“-We’re even staying in the flat.”   


  
“We are?” The Doctor said in surprise when he overheard Rose’s comment. He stared at her in shock, two painful nights on the lounge couch, probably packed full of tiny sausages and cookies by now, jammed in the cracks.  He wasn’t going to let that happen. Or at least, he didn’t want to. There was nothing worse than sleeping on that hard, pleather couch, nothing but Rose’s old bedsheets with Disney princesses on them.    


  
“Yes,” Rose said simply, and that was it.  No more discussions, That couch loomed over him and he blew out a sigh before pasting on a smile.     


  
“Of course,” he said, “Whatever you want.”   


  
She grinned, knowing he would say that.  Keisha smiled too, and crossed her arms.  “I wish I had a man like you, Doctor.  Rose could tell you to lay on train tracks and you would.”   
Oh, she had no idea.   


  
They chatted with Keisha for awhile, and the Doctor got bored and excused himself.  He left Rose’s side to sit in her old bedroom, pretending he wasn’t there and pretending there wasn’t a party going on outside.  It was difficult for him to exist in such domesticity. It wasn’t quite fair, when she thrived in every situation and he was forced to be awkward and go hide in her old room.  He blew out a sigh.  Pathetic.   


  
He loosened his tie and threw his jacket onto the bed.  She might shout at it of course, because she didn’t want his things to wrinkle. Even that was terribly domestic, but  that  he found he didn’t mind that much.  He liked when she worried.   


  
She entered the room not ten minutes later, blowing her hair out of her eyes and sitting down next to him.  “Knew it wouldn’t last,” she said softly. “You being still.”   


  
He reached over and took her hand, smiling. “Sorry,”   


  
“No, s’not me. They’re already asking after you.  I’m afraid you’ll have to come out for jsut a bit more” She scrunched her face up as she said it, like she really was sorry that she had to drag him back out into that mess.  She squeezed his hand. “Just for another hour, before everyone starts to tumble out and get taxis.”   


  
He was watching her carefully, to see if that was what she really wanted, but he gathered that it must be.because otherwise she wouldn’t be asking him.  He raised his eyebrows at her, “Well, I’m not putting that jacket back on, it’s smothering out there.”   


  
She turned around and saw it sprawled out on the pink duvet.  “Shame on you, it’ll wrinkle,” she said softly.  Then she blushed, like she’d said something she shouldn’t, and shot out the door. He followed, unable to keep away from her when she asked him to stay out at the party.   


  
Eventually, though, said party wound down quite spectacularly, and the Doctor had ended up sprawled on Rose’s duvet, looking like he was halfway to falling asleep.  His eyes were closed and his arms were out, as if in surrender.  Rose giggled and sat down at his waist.   


  
“Mum is completely sloshed,” she told him, “So you can stay in here tonight. Doubt she’ll be up till at least noon tomorrow.”   


  
“Anything to get off that couch.”   


  
She snorted and then looked at him closer. “I know you’ve been at longer events than this. Blimey, you’re all tired out.”   


  
“No, don’t get me wrong,” he said, bringing one hand up to press the thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose.  “I love you, it’s just, your  family-”   


  
“You what?”   


  
It was then that he realized he’d quite given himself away to her, in more ways than one.   


  
“Um.’   


  
“Do you actually?”   


  
“Well, I- um, that is, if you want, I don’t have to-”   


  
She leaned over him and he sensed the change in atmosphere and opened his eyes.  They stared at each other, in a bit of a deadlock, and she grinned, like nothing had ever been more perfect in her whole life.  He couldn’t help smiling back, simply because she was happy.    


  
“You love me?” She asked, quietly now, afraid of what he would say.   


  
Realizing he couldn’t get out of it, and that he didn’t really want to, he nodded slowly. “Yes,” he whispered.    


  
“I love you.”   


  
“Do you really?”   


  
“Yeah.”   


  
“Oh, good.”   


  
And with that he lunged up, grabbed her around the waist, and flipped them on the bed so he was over her. Capturing the look of shock on her face to store in his mind forever, he leaned down and kissed her gently, the idea he had always had of their first kiss. She cupped his cheeks, an avid participant in the whole thing.   


  
After several minutes of that, he started to escalate the kisses until they were both breathing quite heavily, and when he moved his exploration down to her neck, he felt her fingers shove through his hair and heard her murmur,   


“Yeah. You’re staying here tonight.”


	21. All That Was

“It’s not… Look, we’ve just been here before, alright? We can’t be here now.”

  
“Sure we can.  Just don’t run into us, yeah?”   


  
The Doctor shot her a glare that could cut into ice.  Unfortunately for him, she was used to such a look and just grinned, crossing her arms over her chest.  She shrugged. “Are we there right now?”   


  
“Yes. I’m detecting our genetic patterns. Can’t fake those.  You and me, from… Well, awhile ago.”   


  
“Couldn’t hurt to look.”   


  
“You, of all people, know that it really can hurt to look,” He said, buttoning up two of the buttons on his jacket, as though he was preparing for battle.  “We’re leaving.”   


  
“Or we could just skip ahead a bit.”   


  
Rose leaned her hip against the console and watched him, daring him to question her, daring him to tell her no.  He swallowed hard and stared at her, trying to get his mouth to tell her no, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so.   


  
“Why do you want to see?” he blurted out, “Just tell me that. Why is the past so bloody important?”   


  
Her face twisted up a little in confusion. “I just think… I think I’d like to observe how you…. Were.  Without me being distracted. I was always distracted.”   


  
The Doctor looked hurt at that. “What, so you don’t want to live in the now, how things are now?”   


  
She realized what he was saying and stepped forward, taking his hand in hers, trying to reassure him. “Of course I want to live with the way things are now,” she said firmly, “I love the way things are.  But I feel like I used to take you for granted.  And I’d like to see how you…”   


  
He cocked an eyebrow.  “We weren’t properly…. Together, then,”   


  
She shook her head, finding a quite becoming blush creep over her cheeks.  “I know,” she said, “But that doesn’t mean you didn’t look at me, right?”   


  
“Rose, all I did was look at you,”   


  
“And I never saw. And now, being the time travellers that we are, we have the opportunity to go back and look.” She gripped his hand a little tighter and grinned. “Unless you’ll get jealous or something. If that’s the case, you can forget it.”   


  
“I’m not!” His voice was a bit higher than usual when he spoke.  “I do not get jealous, I am protective, which is much more noble, I’ll have you know.”   


  
“Oh, yeah, real noble. Remember when that prince tried to dance with me and you lost your mind, dragging me around like a cow or something.”   


  
He made a face at her, because he wasn’t sure what else to do about it, really.  So he just stared at her until he could think of something to say, which ended up being “You are not a cow.”   


  
“Oh, I know, you tell me that quite often.” She said, and then it was his turn to blush and look quite uncomfortable.  “So, are we gonna go spy on ourselves?”   


  
He sighed, seeming to realize that he had lost this particular battle, and nodded, “Sure.  I guess.  If the world ends, on your head be it!”  He tugged her by the hand out of the TARDIS.  She laughed and followed along, like she always would.   


  
It didn’t take them long to find their former selves in the open air market, the first place that they had tried. The Doctor, the old Doctor, clad firmly in leather, stood behind old-Rose, his arms crossed and looking as angry as ever.  He’d always looked upset or distressed, when he wasn’t wearing that face cracking grin that could break and mend her heart all at once. He wasn’t looking at her, not at first, but when old-Rose turned around and grinned up at the Doctor, his eyes softened and he laid a hand on her shoulder, bringing himself a little closer to her.  She let him, cuddling up next to him, and Rose remembered the warmth of that moment.  How he had felt, up against her, the cool leather against her skin.  It wasn’t like the cotton of the Doctor’s suit, but she liked that it was different.  She loved him either way.   


  
The current Rose smiled and leaned against her current Doctor, who’s arm came around her instantly and he held on tight, like she might shoot off away from him to be with the other Doctor.  Of course, she wouldn’t, but he didn’t know that.   


She looked up at him., “You look so miserable all the time,” she whispered.

“I wasn’t,” he said gently, “Not when I was with you, at least.”

  
She couldn’t fight the smile that crept onto her face.  She leaned her head on his shoulder.  “Did you love me then?”   


  
“Yes.”   


  
She watched the two of them, far away and yet they felt very close.  The other Doctor dropped his hand from Rose, like he wasn’t supposed to be touching her or something.  In response, the Doctor next to the older Rose rubbed his hand on her shoulder.    


  
Rose saw herself turn and look at something else, her face alight with happiness.  The Doctor watched her from behind, arms firmly crossed again, and she saw him smile slowly, his blue eyes softening with fondness.  The older Rose looked up at her Doctor.  She had seen that look on him many times, and she recognized it easily.    


  
“Even then,” she meant for it to come out as a question, but it came out as a statement.    


  
He nodded. “Can we go home now?” He asked, and she could tell that he was still feeling a bit insecure.  She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing him tight.  The younger Doctor stepped forward and took younger Rose’s hand, like he couldn’t bear to not be touching her for another moment. The thought made her smile.   


  
“Rose?” The Doctor said, reminding her that he had spoken.     


“Yeah,” she whispered, letting his touch overwhelm her as he leaned down to press a kiss to her head., “Let’s go home.”

  
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	22. Chapter 22

"I'm sick."

She stood in the doorway to the galley, her nose red and still in her rumpled pjs.  She clutched a tissue in her hand and the Doctor looked up at her, looking dreadfully worried. 

"Oh, no," he stood up and walked over to her, kissing her forehead. "You have a slight temperature.  Up with you! We're going back to bed."

"No," She protested as he went to lift her. "All I want to do is watch movies and have a cuddle and you don't like to do those things. Too domestic for you.   I'll just stay up."

The Doctor cocked a brow at her and stepped towards her.  "I've had movie nights with you before."

"Yeah, but you didn't really enjoy it, especially when we're at my mum's house."  She smiled at him.  

"Well, that's quite different, that's your mum's house.  I can't... Hold you without her making snide comments.  I'll gladly cuddle you and make you sandwiches and watch any romantic comedy that you want."

She laughed and then coughed. "Oh, Doctor, I don't want to get you sick." She stepped away but he reached out and caught her by the hand not holding the tissue.

"You can't get me sick. Biologically impossible." He leaned towards her, "And I think you're probably quite aware of the fact that I love to cuddle with you."

"It's not the cuddling you like." She said, watching him carefully, waiting for him to blush, because that man could pretty much blush over anything when he wasn't the one talking in a crude fashion.

He blushed a little, just as she'd expected, and she would've smiled wider but she felt her nose start to run.  He rubbed the back of his neck and shook himself, looking at her again. "I... Well, yes, but you are hardly in the mood for all that now." He swept her up in a bridal carry and she squeaked in surprise, but she didn't pull away.  She could never manage to pull away from him.  She settled against him and pressed the tip of her nose to his neck, breathing heavily against his neck. 

"Well, if you want me to control myself, don't do that," he scolded her, adjusting his grip.

She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter and squeezed, getting even closer to him. "You're nice and cool," she purred.

"Yes, well, Time Lord." 

"I like it."

"I'm well aware that you like it."

She hummed happily and he carried her to the media room, where the TARDIS had already made the couch into a giant couch-bed, the back of it still intact with a plush mattress and tons of blankets and pillows.

"Oh," She said breathlessly, feeling like she was about to be the most comfortable she had ever been in her life. 

He smiled a little and set her down. "Nice to know that I rank below 'really nice bed in the media room'.

"Well, not usually," she said, crawling up the bed to get under the covers.  The Doctor, luckily, had still been in his pajamas, and so he crawled right in after her, drawing her close up against him.   She hummed happily and burrowed herself under the covers, laying her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Doctor," she whispered as he soniced the telly on.  

"Anytime, Rose." He said softly. He pressed a kiss to her temple and she threw her leg over his hips, cuddling tight against him.

"What are you going to put on for us?" she asked as he flipped through the romantic comedies.

"A romance movie from Peruvit Seventeen," he said, "Probably the best movie of its kind to hit the scene."

"Mm," she said, nudging her nose into his jaw. "Sounds perfect."

"Rose, if you want me to control myself, you're going to have to stop that."

"I just like you too much."

"I like you too."

She giggled at their juvenile banter and kissed his cheek before cuddling down against him.  He sighed happily and rubbed his hand up and down her shoulder.  The movie started and he let himself wrap his other arm around her. 

It felt like hours, how long they laid there.  She kept shifting and burying her nose in his neck during the film, and overall being terribly distracting.  She was paying attention to the movie, but he was just so nice and cool on her hot skin that she couldn't help but try and wriggle close to him. He stroked her hair and kissed the crown of her head.  

When the film ended, another one started immediately, and the Doctor looked down at Rose's golden head, smiling a little. "Feeling better?"

"Not entirely," She admitted, looking up at him with very bleary eyes. "But thanks for cuddling with me. You didn't have to do that."

"No, I didn't. I like cuddling with you," he jostled his knee against hers.  She giggled and curled up closer to him.  

"Thanks, Doctor."

"You're welcome, love."

It was several hours that they lay there, and then eventually the Doctor got them some lunch, but he came back and cuddled right up against her again, pressing kisses to her temple and forehead to check her temperature.  

At some point, she fell asleep against him, and he grinned to himself.  Oh, he used to hate sick days, all sorts of domestics. 

But with Rose Tyler sprawled across his chest and a movie on his TV screen?  Well, perhaps sick days were the best days of all.  Or, at least, if they were with her.


	23. No One Should Be Alone on Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> College AU

She felt a light and hesitant tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss Tyler?  You'll have to leave. It's nearly one in the morning."

Rose looked up blearily from her book to the man, John Smith, who was apparently a worker at the campus library, and blinked slowly.  "I can't leave."

"I'm afraid you have to. We've stayed open longer than usual for you.  We have to go back to our dorms too."

She felt guilty, even though she had loads of things to do.  She blew out a sigh and got to her feet, shoving her books in her bag.  She stumbled a little, due to her exhaustion, and he caught her by the arm. She ignored the shock that went up it.  

"Oh, you're John Smith, aren't you?" Rose asked, righting herself and meeting his eye.  "Right lady's man, you are."

"I'm not a lady's man," he protested.  "I've had one girlfriend and everyone thinks I'm a lady's man.  But I am a _gentle_ man, and I'm going to walk you back to your dorm.  You won't be alert enough like this."

She had to acknowledge that he was right, and that, perhaps, she had let her tongue get away from her, as usual.  She let herself nod and put her coat on, surprised that he helped.  She was surprised when he crooked out his arm, and she put her arm through his. 

"You're a bit old fashioned. Won't they miss you here?"

"Nah, not me!" John said happily, doing a quick little skip. "They don't really like me working here. They say it's great that I like the books, but I talk too much. Besides, I'd rather walk you back than dust the desks."

Rose felt her mood improving. "Well, you know, I went on and came in here to study, and there wasn't any dust on the desks."

John laughed, "I know, I know.  Donna's a bit of a neat freak.  But that's alright, the place always looks great, doesn't it?"

"It does."

They walked out of the library, and Rose gasped when the gold air hit her throat.  It was snowing, rather hard actually, and she turned the collar of her coat up in retaliation. She saw John duck his head against the snow.

"Erm, I was watching you come in, you came in at four. Did you have anything to eat?"

Rose shook her head, surprised that he had spoken at all, really. "No, didn't have time."

"There's a... I have... That is, I like to keep my little fridge stocked in my room, and I could whip something up for you, if you like."

She eyed him warily and adjusted her glasses, which she had put on instead of her contacts in favor of how late she was planning to be out.  "Are you going to try and put the moves on me?"

"No!"  He blinked, "Well, not tonight, that would be completely inappropriate, and I think what you need is some food and sleep, and I'll still walk you home, don't worry."

He seemed so flustered that she nodded. "Yeah, alright, I'll go to yours.  But the second your hands start wandering, that's enough."

"My hands do _not_ wander.  But they don't let girls in the dorm after nine o' clock, so we'll have to be quite sneaky, you and me."

They reached the bottom of his building and when John scanned his card to get in the building, Rose felt her eyes widen. It was deathly quiet.  He moved his arm from hers and took her hand instead, leading her quietly up the stairs to the second floor. He knocked on a door and pressed his ear to it. After a moment, he nodded, satisfied, and typed in a code before entering the room. 

It was dark in the room, and Rose was sure that someone would hear her heart hammering and catch them, even if they weren't doing anything wrong. The room was organized artfully, allowing room for a little fridge with a microwave on top of it, along with the standard two beds, desks, and dressers. It was all positively immaculate, like two Uni boys didn't live there.  More like two forty year old house wives. 

"Where's your roommate?" She asked quietly.  He looked at her and she could see his blush through the darkness. 

"Where he is pretty much every night. The girl's dorms."

"Is your roommate Jack Harkness?"

John nodded miserably and turned a light on, shedding a bit of light into the room, before shutting the curtains of his window. "Yeah. Don't get me wrong, he's nice and all... But he tries to pull everyone, it's just annoying."

"Even you?"

"Yes!  Even me!" He shook his head. "You're in my Psych class, haven't you seen him?"

"Yeah," She agreed. "I, um... I kind of forgot you were in my Psych class."

He seemed a little disappointed at that. "You know, I had a feeling you might, I'm quite forgettable."

"No you're not!"

He smiled sadly. "You just said you'd forgotten about me."  His face changed instantly to a mask of happiness. "Alright, then, let's get you something to eat."  He opened his fridge and looked at what he had. "I've got some soda and waters and... Looks like about six microwave cups of macaroni and cheese. Those are Jack's, but he's not here, is he?"

Rose felt a bit guilty for admitting to John that she'd forgotten him. He was really nice, and he'd offered his dorm to her so that she could eat something.  She frowned at little. "Yeah.  Sounds good."

"Water or soda?" he asked. 

"Water," she replied, "I need to get some sleep. Can't afford to get too wired.  I have to sleep before my finals."

"Right."

He handed her a water and took out a soda for himself before picking out two cups of the macaroni and putting it in the microwave and then removing his coat. After a few moments, she felt that she was warming up quite nicely, so she took her own coat off too.  She frowned at him, wondering why he had picked such a sugary drink. 

"Don't you need to sleep?" She asked. 

"Nah!" He said forcefully, cracking it open, "no, I don't sleep much."

"That's really bad for you, John."

"It's alright. "I'm used to it now."

The only sound was the microwave for a few moments, and then Rose blurted out, "I'm sorry I called you a lady's man. I don't think I know you well enough to make assumptions like that."

"No, I suppose you don't," he smiled softly, "It's alright."

Rose smiled back, a little tighter than she would have liked, but it was still there. "I think my mouth gets the better of me, sometimes."

"I could say the same," he admitted, sitting at the foot of one of the beds, which she assumed was his. "I'm really quite annoying."

"I don't think you're annoying."

"Eh.  You will, in about an hour and a half."

She giggled, "That's not terribly optimistic, is it? Shall I set a timer?"

He hummed, "If you like."

She sat down next to him and bumped his shoulder. "So, you remember me from Psych?"

"Of course I do.  You're lovely."  His eyes popped open when he spoke and he immediately went to the microwave and furiously mixed the cheese into the noodles with two plastic forks. "I didn't mean to say that. I suppose that's what I mean, when I say that my gob gets away from me, really annoying, I know.  Really, properly annoying, I am, so here, here's yours." He shoved the cup into her free hand and she giggled. 

"Why are you acting like that?  It's not like i"m going to slap you for giving me a compliment. It's not like you told me I had a great ass or something."

He blushed furiously and started stammering again. 

She felt her eyes widen.  This bloke had a crush on her, a real proper crush on her, and by the look of it, it was really sweet and innocent and if she didn't know better, she'd say he admired her.  She smiled a little. "It's okay. You've got a great one too."

He blinked and managed a little smile at her. "This was not how I was hoping to impress you."

She was attracted to him, she could admit that, but she barely knew anything about him. Still, a little flirting never hurt anyone, did it?  She tilted her head to the side and took the first bite of the macaroni.  "This is really good."

"Yeah, it is. I can make this and popcorn really well>"

She giggled, the awkwardness dissipating. She kicked off her shoes and adjusted herself so that she sat cross legged on his bed.  "Tell me more about yourself, John. It seems you have me as a disadvantage."

He blushed again, which she was quickly finding desperately charming.  "Well, I'm a Physics major, going for my doctorate. I want to be a Physics professor."

"That's brilliant!" She said. 

"Well, what do you study?"

"Art," She mumbled, "Not... Not nearly as impressive."

"I think it's plenty impressive." he said, taking a bite out of his own cup.  "If I were to be sat down in a room and told 'here, draw a cat or you'll die', well, let's just say that I'd die, and very quickly."

Rose laughed. "That doesn't mean I'm _that_ good at it," she admitted. "I struggle with the more academic courses."

"Like Psych?"

To his surprise, she shook her head. "No," She said, "I'm actually rather good at Psych.  The mind is a beautiful place. It's art in itself."

He looked at her, bemused. "I suppose it is," he said, "I've never thought of it that way before."

They chatted quietly for awhile, until Rose had finished her own food and was still sipping on the water.  He looked her over and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. 

"Would you like some more?  I know it's not a lot, but you haven't had much to eat at all."

"Yeah, actually. Will Jack mind, though?"

"Jack won't even notice," John snorted. "Don't you worry about it," he stood up and went to cook them both another cup, leaving Jack with just two more cups left. 

Rose tucked her hair behind her ear. "John, I don't think I thanked you."

"You don't have to. It's my pleasure."  

"And... you don't have to walk me back to the dorm, when we're done."

"Yes, I do," he said firmly, "There's more chance of a woman getting attacked on campus after dark than any other time," he looked over his shoulder at her, "You are not going home alone."

She was struck by how much he cared about her safety, and she found it oddly heart warming. "I think all the perverts have gone to bed for the night, John."

He smiled, but his eyes didn't change. "Doesn't matter. One might wake up. Can't risk that."

She bit her lip.  "I guess not," She whispered.  She smiled a little.  'Thanks."

"Anytime, Rose."

They had another helping of macaroni and cheese, which Rose was quickly becoming addicted to, and then she realized she should get ready. She looked out the window of his room and gasped. "Oh, it's probably bloody freezing!" She groaned.  It was even cooling down in the room, but she wasn't about to tell him that and make him feel bad. 

He peered over her shoulder. "Oh.  It looks like it's snowing horizontally."

She snorted. "You can't walk me home in that, John, I'll just go."

"I'm not letting you walk home in that.  You'll take Jack's bed."

"Well, who knows where that's been?"

"What- well- he hasn't in here-" he paused, as though considering it, "Not that I'm aware of!"

"John, I'll just go home."

"Or we could share!  Rose, you'll literally catch your death out there."

She pushed her glasses up again, knowing full well that he was right. "Why don't you take Jack's bed?"

"Because now I'm thinking about what he might have done in it," John snapped.

The bed wasn't a traditional twin, a bit bigger, so Rose agreed.  She borrowed a pair of pajama pants from him but kept her own jumper on.  He let her get in first, so she got in the bed and pressed herself against the wall.  

John climbed in after her, keeping a respectable distance between them. "I'm really sorry. I should've just taken you back," he said as she pulled her hair back in a ponytail to keep it from getting tangles in it.

"It's okay. I don't have any food in my room." She handed him her glasses and he placed them on his end table. 

"I really wasn't trying to pull you."

"Considering that your hand isn't in my knickers right now, I believe you."

" _Rose."_

She laughed and laid down. "I'm kidding."

He pulled the blankets up and shivered a little. "You going home for Christmas?"

"I'm going up _on_ Christmas, and then coming back on the 26th."

"You're only staying up for a day."

"I don't like being there for all the parties," she regarded him through blurry eyes. "You know, all that mess about me being a Vitex heiress."

He blinked. "I forgot you were the Vitex heiress."

She grinned, "Thought you thought I was lovely."

"Yeah, I think _you're_ lovely, not your social background."

Her smile softened, but was no less brilliant.  "I like that," she said softly, "Are you going home for Christmas?"

He shook his head. "No family."

She wasn't sure what made her do it, maybe it was just instinct after hearing him say that, but she rolled into him, her head hitting his shoulder. "I'm sorry, John. You should... You should come home with me on Christmas."

He reached over and patted her head.  "We barely know each other, Rose, you would hate it."

"Well, how about we'll go out for chips tomorrow, and then I'll let you know?  No one should be alone on Christmas," She asked, biting her lip nervously.

He sighed, pretending to be distressed. "Well, you've already got me in bed."

She laughed. "Is it a deal then?"

With the powerful wind outside striking his window, he replied just soft enough for her to hear.

"It's a deal."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I continue with this one until Christmas? I rather like it.
> 
> What do you think?


	24. No One Should Be Alone on Christmas Pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part 2 of yesterday's story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Overwhelmingly, people wanted this to continue, so I hope you all enjoy this! Part 3 of this tomorrow!

Rose had to wake up early and sneak out so they wouldn't get caught the next morning (even though they hadn't done anything) but she hadn't bet on someone sneaking _in._

"Whoa, John!" A man's voice broke through Rose's sleep. "You should've put a sock on the door."

Rose opened her eyes, finding that she had, in the night, thrown an arm over John and buried her face in his neck.  One of his hands had ended up on her hand on his chest, the other one trapped under her.  

John started to sit up and then laid back down. "Jack, you could also knock."

"You never have anybody in here!"  Jack protested.  "Much less a pretty girl."

"John, can you hand me my glasses?" Rose mumbled, slowly extracting herself from him.  He reached to the table and then gave them to her as she sat up. She put them on and peered at Jack.

John got out of bed and started rooting around for something to wear.  "Rose, I'll walk you home."

She didn't resist.  "Okay," She looked at Jack, "There's no need to try and embarrass him, you know.  We're fully clothed."

Jack beamed. "It's my job to embarrass him. He's my roommate.  Although, if you two of you are gonna sit around and cuddle, you could always invite me to-"

"Jack!" 

"You know, John has quite the boring notion that you can only be with one person at once."

Rose stiffened, "Well, then you can go ahead and call me boring too.  I'm gonna go change."  She got out of John's bed and crossed the room to him, determined to prove a point now. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him around, pressing a firm kiss to the corner of his mouth before disappearing into the bathroom to change.

She didn't see the absolutely gobsmacked look on John's face.

****

They spent a lot of time together between that morning and Christmas, because since Rose had told her mother that she was bringing a friend, Jackie had another place setting made up at the Vitex party.

"Your family has parties on Christmas?" he'd asked. 

She nodded. 'Yeah. Spend the morning with your family, spend the rest of the day with everybody else."

John had laughed a little and started looking for presents for Rose's family. 

Rose had volunteered to drive to her parents' house, and John had agreed, mostly because he didn't have the money to pay for gas for his car to make its way all the way there.  She drove a blue sports car that was quite roomy but he still felt uncomfortable. What if her parents found out that he fancied her?  She certainly didn't fancy him.  He knew that.  The only time she'd shown him any affection was when she had kissed him the first morning.  That and... They held hands all the time. 

But that didn't mean anything, he told himself as he buckled in and glanced over at her.  She smiled at him and started up the car.   

"Don't be nervous," she told him reassuringly, "They're not that scary. I think you'll like the party."

"I don't do well at parties, Rose," he told her softly.

"Well, I won't leave your side, so you don't have to be nervous about it, okay?"

He nodded and wanted to reach over and take her hand, but thought that perhaps in the intimate setting of a car ride to her parents' house, that might not be one hundred percent appropriate.  

She kept up the conversation though, quite splendidly, telling him all about her little brother, Tony, and how he would probably be obsessed with John.

"Loves maths, that one," Rose shook her head and flicked on her turn signal. "He's a bit weird."

"Oi! Are you calling me weird?"

She flashed him a dazzling smile, "Only by extension."

He tutted at her. "See if I ever go home with you for Christmas again," he teased, and she laughed. 

"You like it."

The drive went pretty smoothly, with only one stop for gas before pulling into the Tyler mansion.  John found himself gawking at the building, because it was absolutely magnificent.  "Wow," he said softly. 

She leaned over and playfully pushed his lower jaw up, shutting his mouth.  When he turned to look at her, she smiled softly, and then said, "This doesn't change anything, right? Between us, it doesn't change anything? I know my family's rich, but-"

"Rose, it doesn't matter what your family does," he furrowed his brows. "That's not why we're friends."

"Yeah. You're-you're right.  Here, let's get our stuff."

"Allow me!" 

He carried her rucksack as well as his and they walked to the front door together. As expected, Jackie Tyler was loud and in charge, and Pete was kind and talked in a soft voice that was authoritative at the same time. And _Tony._ Tony threw himself right at John the moment he walked in.  Rose had, evidently, spoken of him.  

"Well, I'm gonna take John up to the guest room," Rose said after about twenty minutes of introduction.  "We'll meet you down here for dinner."

"Tomorrow's Christmas!" Tony yelled.

"We know, bud," Pete said, patting his son on the head.  

Rose nodded and led John up a magnificent staircase to their left.  He wanted to hold her hand, to ground himself, but again, was forced to reign in his feelings. He clenched his fists instead and followed Rose up the stairs until they made it to a large mahogany door.  Rose opened the door and gestured for him to enter.  

He walked in and put his rucksack down at the foot of the magnificent bed.  He looked back at Rose, who looked a little uncomfortable.  He cocked his head at her and she entered the room as well. 

"I'm afraid you'll think differently of me, after this Christmas."

"Rose, I told you, nothing about your family is going to change how I-" He clamped his mouth shut, aware of what he had been about to say.

"How you what?" She stepped closer to him and he felt his breath hitch. She was too close, far too close.

He swallowed hard, and without thinking, reached out to stroke her hair back from her face. Her eyes fell shut and he snapped his hand back.  "I'll just... Unpack then, yeah?"

"Sure," she said, her voice sounding smaller. "Um, so we'll do dinner tonight, and presents tomorrow morning, and then we'll have about four hours before the party. That alright?"

"Yeah, of course.  When should I leave my gifts for your family under the tree?"

She looked down at him. "You bought gifts for my family?"

He looked back at her like she was completely daft. "Of course I did, you loon.  Are you going to stand there or help me out?"

****

The next morning he was awakened by Rose Tyler sitting on his bed, breathing heavily into his face.  He jolted when he saw her. 

"Good morning," she said happily, bouncing lightly on the bed.

"Good morning," he said, reaching up from the covers to poke her side. She giggled and slipped from her knees to her bum, grabbing his hand. He reached up with his other hand and tickled her other side.  She fought back, and if quickly turned into them play wrestling over the covers. She ended up pinned, him holding down her hands on either side of her head, his knees between hers, and her head on the pillows. 

"Hello," she whispered, her nose almost brushing his. 

"Hello."

"Um, I guess we should go on and open presents then, huh?" She wriggled a little and grinned at him. 

He tried very hard not to see that as a rejection, even though he knew that it was.  He sat back on his heels and forced himself to return her smile. "Yeah.  Just so long as you admit that I won."

"Won? You don't win at play fighting, John," She protested.

"Yeah, well, I just did." He helped her sit up and then climbed off the bed. "Let's go, don't want to keep your brother waiting, do we?"

"On Christmas? Of course not."

*****

As it happened, the Tylers were very impressed with John's thoughtful gift giving abilities.  Although, the necklace that he had given Rose, with a tiny gold and pink flower on the end of a gold chain, had really taken the cake. Jackie oohed and ahhed over it for several minutes before she made John put it on her.  

Tony was happily playing with the set of action figures and playset that John had given him when Jackie went to rustle up breakfast.  

Rose looked down at the book John was flipping through, the copy of Dickens that she had given him.

"Do you like it?" She whispered.

He looked up at her and smiled, "Of course I like it," he said, "I love it."  He leaned over to pull her into a hug.  "Thank you."

She returned his hug, resting her nose against his neck.  "There's just one thing left."

"What's that?"

She gave him a little squeeze before murmuring, "The Christmas party."

Oh.  Right.

He had to sit through a posh Christmas party.  He sighed and rubbed her back.  Oh, the things he would go through for Rose Tyler, even if she would never love him back.


	25. No One Should Be Alone on Christmas Pt 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final part of No One Should Be Alone on Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this story! I had a lot of fun with these last three parts especially. Merry Christmas!

Rose noticed that he had donned a suit for her parents' party and she thought she might go mad with how good he looked. She swallowed hard and adjusted her own dress, hoping he would think that she looked as nice as she thought he looked. 

"Ready?" She asked, unable to stop herself from adjusting his tie. 

He nodded, and she could see it in the motion of his throat. "Is there... Dancing, at stuff like this?"

She pursed her lips to keep from smiling and then nodded.  "Yeah," she said, "Typically, there is lots of dancing, and lots of alcohol."

"Well, I'll have one of those things."

She giggled and shook her head.  "You're mad." She looked up at him. "You'll dance with me, won't you?"

"If you want me to.  Aren't there plenty of boys that want to dance with you at these?"

"Yeah," She admitted, "But see, the thing is, I don't want to dance with them, so they can't dance with me."

"Rose Tyler, are you asking me to be your date?" He asked, only half kidding. 

She lifted a shoulder and wouldn't make eye contact. "I mean... If you want."

"Sure.  Of course."

"Okay then."

"Yeah."

She laughed, and it broke the tension that had been building between them, "Well, we should get going down to the ballroom, if we want to be there on time."

"You have a ballroom in your _house?_ I thought we were driving to a hotel."  He blinked, his disbelief plain on his face. 

She giggled, "Not unless you want to drive down the stairs." She reached for his hand. "Let's go!"

He let her lead him down the stairs and through many corridors and rooms until they reached a garden that led to the ballroom.  It was a long walk and John was staring to try and figure out how it had been so large from the front but even larger inside.

The party inside was already in full swing, Christmas music playing loudly.  Rose straightened her gown, long, cherry-red and tight, and then looked over at John.  He looked quite uncomfortable.  She threaded her arm through his instead of holding his hand and led the way into the ballroom. 

The moment they walked in, guests bared down on them.  People kissing Rose's cheek and shaking her hand, and then by extension, shaking John's hand.  She was smiling and polite and almost didn't seem like the Rose that he knew from school and all their not-dates. Because they weren't.  Dates, that is.  

"You still want a drink?" She asked teasingly. 

"I actually think I can hold off for a few minutes," He teased back.

"So then you can come dance with me," She said, holding her hand to him. It wasn't really a question, and even if it had been, he wasn't sure that he would be able to say no.  He took her hand and led her to the dance floor.  

They were waltzing, because apparently, rich people waltzed.  Rose whispered the steps to him as they went, making sure his circles were right and that he was doing everything right.  He was concentrating so hard he couldn't think about the hand that rested on the small of her back, where it rarely had the good fortune to rest.  She continued to count gently into his ear, and it was becoming increasingly distracting.

"When did you learn this?" He asked.

"I was about eight," he replied, "I took lessons from a tutor, and they did everything to make me a proper lady when I wasn't at school."  She intentionally bumped her knee against his, "It's too bad they did so poorly at it, isn't it?"

"They didn't do poorly," John replied, catching onto the steps.  "You are quite the lady."

She snorted. "Uh-huh."

"Well, when you want to be, that is," he said, "You walk with your head held high, like no one can tell you what to do."

"Cause they can't."

He realized how close she was , and how much closer that he wanted to be to her.  He breathed out a sigh as the song ended and they separated from each other to applaud the band.  He clapped awkwardly and she nodded towards the bar. He followed her and sat down next to her. 

"Rose Tyler, fresh from the land of knowledge." the young bartender leaned on the bar. "What'll it be, pretty girl?"

His American accent reminded John of Jack and made him very nervous.  Rose just smiled.  "To make my parents happy, a Shirley Temple," she winked at him.  "Spike it.  And one for John here."

She had reached over and touched his hand when she said that.  What did that mean? She didn't call him her 'friend', which was the kiss of death for most relationships that seemed to be budding and then weren't.  The bartender laughed and started mixing up their drinks.  

Rose swiveled towards him in her chair and poked his foot.  "See? Could be worse."

"Could be way worse," he agreed when the bartender set the drink in front of them. 

They spent a couple hours drinking and talking to Christmas songs that played loudly from the live band.  John started to feel a little daring, and he gestured for her to stand when a slow instrumental song started.  

"Let's dance," he said softly.

"You want to?"

"Yes."

She grinned and let him take her back to the dance floor.  He took her hand and wrapped the other arm around her waist, pulling her close against him.  She wrapped her arm around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair.  She looked up at him, watching him carefully.  

"What are you up to?" She whispered.

He shook his head. "Why did you invite me, Rose?"

She bit her lip and looked away for him. "I'm gonna ask you a question instead."

"Okay."

"Do you still fancy me?"

"What?"

"You heard me, John.  When we first met in the library, that night, you sort of admitted that you thought I was lovely.  Tell me if you still fancy me."

He felt his heart pounding violently. He didn't want her to know. He didn't want her to reject him.  He licked his lips and stared at her.  "Um-"

"Just... Be honest," She squeezed her eyes closed.  "Please."

He breathed out a rough sigh.  "Yes," he said, "I still fancy you."

She took to hand that was in his hair and touched his cheek. "John," she whispered.  She leaned forward, inviting him closer.  He dipped his head towards hers, his fringe brushing her forehead.  He moved closer, his body deciding before his mind what he wanted to do. he kissed her, and almost gasped at the feel of it.  She was so soft, and warm, and to his incredible astonishment, she was kissing him back.  She pulled away a little when he tried to deepen the kiss.  She brushed her thumb against his cheek.  "I think we've spent enough time at this party, don't you think?"

"Yes," he breathed out on a ragged breath.  She smiled and pulled away from him and then grabbed his hand, dragging him back through the house until they made it to a room he'd never seen before but by the looks of it, it was definitely Rose's.  She was breathing hard and her cheeks were flushed.  She cupped his cheeks and kissed him again.  This time, she didn't pull away, and he wrapped his arms around her neck and hauled her up against him, kissing her soundly and deeply. 

She let him, and reciprocated fiercely, rubbing her hands up and down his arms and returning them to his hair.  After several long moments, he pulled away.

"Rose, does that mean you fancy me?" He asked, only half teasing.

She let out a little bark of laughter and ripped his waistcoat from his body, "What do you think?" She purred. 

"I think I'm in love with you,' he said without thinking. 

She looked up at him, startled. 

He pinched his eyes shut. "Oh.  Oh, I'm sorry.  That's not what you're supposed to do, is it? Oh, no, bollocks, I-"

"I love you too," she whispered.  "I didn't realize it until one time we were out for chips and... And you held my hand... And it didn't feel like we were just friends anymore."

"We're not," he replied, "We're not, are we?"

"No.  You're better than a friend, you're better than any boyfriend I've ever had.  You're better."

He leaned in to kiss her again, feeling his heart against hers as he pulled her against him.  She clung to him as though she couldn't get close enough.  He pulled away from her mouth and set about leaving biting kisses down her neck.  She made a sound that was intoxicating and it made him absolutely mad.  He licked his way back up her neck and without thinking he picked her up and threw her on the bed.  She squeaked a little as she hit the mattress, the skirts flying out around her.  

"Wow! Sorry! That's not how that works, is it?" He felt only a little bashful.

"No, but very impressive." She reached for him, grinning from ear to ear.  "Come here." He didn't hesitate.

The next morning, when they went back home, he held her hand in his the whole ride. 

"Rose Tyler, what do you want to do when we get home?"

"We could try and get snowed into your dorm again."

"Brilliant."

And so it was.


End file.
